DAILY NEWS DIARY FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS - 10.02.2021 Of
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 10.02.2021
DAILY NEWS DIARY
Of
10.02.2021
FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 10.02.2021
Warm Greetings.
DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in sync with the
UPSC pattern.
It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains.
Daily articles are provided in the form of Question and
Answers
To have a bank of mains questions.
And interesting to read.
Providing precise information that can be carried
straight to the exam, rather than over dumping.
Enjoy reading.
THE HINDU - TH
INDIAN EXPRESS - IE
BUSINESS LINE - BL
ECONOMIC TIMES - ET
TIMES OF INDIA - TOI
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 10.02.2021
INDEX
Essay Paper
1. (POCSO) needs to up its protection gear ………………………………………………………………………………………….04
GS 2
Governance
1. Section 4 of Special Marriage Act ………………………………………………...………………………………………………….05
GS 3
Security
1. Army’s “Special Unit” to sniff out Covid-19………………………………………………………………………………………06
Economic Development
2. Indian governments say on the role of e-commerce …………………………………………………………………………07
Snippets:
1. The term “Ordinance” and repromulgation………………………………………………………………………………………
2. New Marigold variant – Arka Shubha…………………………………………………………………………………………….…07
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 10.02.2021
ESSAY PAPER
EDITORIAL
Q – Make a comparative analysis of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) with reference to the offence of sexual assault and how the latter needs to up its
protection gear?
INTRODUCTION =The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code
intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. While the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted in 2012 especially to protect children (aged less than 18) from sexual
assault.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Act admitted that a number of sexual offences against
children were neither specifically provided for in extant laws nor adequately penalised. The UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by India in 1992, also requires sexual exploitation and sexual
abuse to be addressed as heinous crimes. It was therefore felt that offences against children be defined
explicitly and also countered through commensurate penalties as an effective deterrence.
The difference between POCSO and IPC, as far as the offence of sexual assault is concerned, is two-fold:
1. One, the definition of ‘assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty’ given in the
IPC is generic whereas in POCSO, the acts of sexual assault are explicitly mentioned such as touching
various private parts or doing any other act which involves physical contact without penetration. ‘Sexual
assault’ in POCSO specifically excludes rape which requires penetration; otherwise the scope of ‘sexual
assault’ under POCSO and ‘outraging modesty of a woman’ under the IPC is the same.
2. Two, whereas the IPC provides punishment for the offence irrespective of any age of the victim, POCSO is
specific for the protection of children. Higher punishment is provided under POCSO not because more
‘serious allegations’ of sexual assault are required but because the legislature wanted punishment to be
more deterrent if the victims are children.
Therefore, once the act of ‘outraging modesty with the use of assault or criminal force’, which is nothing
but ‘sexual assault’, is proved, the requisite punishment must be slapped under POCSO if the victim is a
child.
Need to gear up Protection as -
It was in this backdrop that the recent judgment of the Bombay High Court, in Satish Ragde v. State of
Maharashtra, in which the accused was acquitted under the POCSO Act, came under massive criticism.
The Bench acquitted a man found guilty of assault on the grounds that he groped his victim over her
clothes and there was no skin-to-skin contact between them.
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 10.02.2021
As this judgment was likely to set a dangerous precedent, the apex court stayed the acquittal.
Section 7 of the POCSO Act, inter alia, says that whoever with sexual intent touches the breast of the child
is said to commit sexual assault.
Whereas Section 8 of the Act provides minimum imprisonment of three years for sexual assault, Section
354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) lays down a minimum of one year imprisonment for outraging the
modesty of a woman
Relevant Case study’s –
1. The essence of a woman’s modesty is her sex and the culpable intention of the accused is the crux of the
matter in the cases of sexual assault.
2. In Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997), the Supreme Court held that the offence relating to modesty of
woman cannot be treated as trivial.
3. In Pappu v. State of Chhattisgarh (2015), the High Court of Chhattisgarh, though it acquitted the accused
under Section 354 of the IPC as the offence was found lacking in use of ‘criminal force or assault’, convicted
him for sexual harassment under Section 354A which requires ‘physical contact’ and advances as a
necessary element. This case also pertained to squeezing the limbs and breasts of a 13-year-old girl but
the High Court did not venture into the area of skin-to-skin contact.
4. It will not be out of place to mention here that the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of the U.K. says that touching
(with sexual intent) includes touching with any part of the body, with anything else or through anything.
The POCSO Act might be silent on such niceties; it is the bodily integrity of a woman that needs to be
protected. Therefore, in the absence of any specific provision in the POCSO Act which requires skin-to-
skin touch as a mandatory element of an offence, any interpretation which dilutes protection to children
must be declared ultra vires.
GS 2
Governance
Q – What is the Section 4 of Special Marriage Act? Critically Analyse centre’s objection to a petition
seeking to discontinue with the provision?
BACKGROUND = All marriages done under the SMA requires publication of the names of the couple for
inviting objections from public for 30 days. Within this period, anyone can object to the marriage on the
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ground that it would contravene one or more of the conditions specified in section 4 of the SMA.
Some of the conditions include –
1. Neither party has a spouse living;
2. Either of them is of unsound mind, incapable of giving a valid consent;
3. And the man has completed twenty-one years and the woman eighteen years.
Petitioners -
The provision was challenged by an inter-faith couple on the ground that the 30 days gestation period
was not warranted as the same objective can be mitigated on the basis of certificates issued by
government hospitals and on the basis of undertaking by them.
Advocate Utkarsh Singh, who had appeared for the couple, argued that the question with regard to
whether either party has a living spouse can arise in other religious marriage also, but they are
exempted from 30 days’ notice period.
The petition has sought to quash section 6 and 7 of SMA, which mandates publication of the public
notice, on the ground that it is unreasonable and arbitrary.
The 30-day period offers an opportunity to kin of the couple to discourage an inter-caste or inter-religion
marriage
Centre -
The Ministry of Law and Justice said that the intention behind the provision in SMA was to “keep adequate
safeguards to the interest of various parties involved” and has thus objected to a petition seeking to
discontinue with the provision.
However, if any person raises objection to the said marriage within a period of 30 days, the marriage
officer shall not solemnise the marriage until he has enquired into the matter of objection. It may not be
possible to verify the credibility of such person if at least thirty days period is not given.
Other Advantages of Register Marriages being –
GS 3
Security
Q – Write in detail about the Army’s “Special Unit” to sniff out Covid-19?
BACKGROUND = Since November last, Casper and Jaya have been deployed in Chandigarh and Delhi to
screen samples and detect COVID-19 among soldiers posted to forward areas of the Northern Command.
The two are ‘specialist’ military dogs, Casper, a two-year-old male Cocker Spaniel, and Jaya, a one-year-
old female Chippiparai. They are the first two canines trained to detect COVID-19 cases from sweat and
urine samples.
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COVID-19 volatile metabolic biomarkers are within the threshold limit of olfactory detection capability of
trained dogs and can help in quick and real time detection of disease.
They can detect COVID-19 with 95% accuracy.
They are not medically accepted and only used to screen large numbers
Samples identified as positive by the dogs are confirmed through the RT-PCR test.
A dog can screen approximately 100 samples in an hour with a rest period of five minutes after every 15
minutes.
Economic Development
Q – What is the Indian governments say on the role of e-commerce while stressing the need for ethical
self-governance in the field?
The Centre plans to issue a clarification on the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the e-commerce
sector in the wake of investigations into some foreign players’ operations following complaints about
malpractices
To reiterate, e-commerce is supposed to provide an agnostic platform so that buyers and sellers can trade
with each other, the platform should not become a part of the trading transaction, neither should it be
funding it or having algorithms that give preference to one or the other.
They should neither be promoting their own products, but provide all data required to make a rational
choice and the choice should be the free choice of the consumers.
The Commerce and Industry ministry warned players ‘who break the law’ that they would have to correct
their business practices at the earliest. As the e-commerce policy per se would, however, not be changed
as it was ‘robust, well-designed and operating in India in several sectors’.
Snippet
GS 2
Polity
Q – Explain the term “Ordinance” and how is repromulgation of the Agricultural Produce and Livestock
Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) justified?
The Odisha government has proposed to set up and operate private market yards and farmer consumer
market yards to enhance competition among different markets and market players for the agricultural
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produce. And on those lines has approved repromulgation of Agricultural Produce and Livestock
Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) for the third time.
The ‘Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation)’ has been drafted on the
lines of a model law titled ‘The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation)
Act, 2017’ circulated earlier by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the State government had brought the ordinance to give an immediate
benefit to the farmers.
The ordinance proposes to abolish fragmentation of market within the State by removing the concept
of notified market area so far as enforcement of regulation by the Agricultural Produce and Livestock
Market Committee is concerned.
The government aims to declare warehouses or silos or cold storages and other structures or space as
market sub-yard to provide better market access or linkage to the farmers.
Yet India would not like another source of tension at a time when the confrontation with China in Ladakh
is yet to be resolved
GS 3
Science & Technology
Q – Comment of the usability of the New Marigold variant – Arka Shubha?
Generally, flowers lose their value if they get spoilt either due to rain or delay in harvest. But the new
variety of marigold developed by the Hessarghatta-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR)
will fetch money even if they get spoilt as it can be used for extraction of crude carotene, which is mainly
used in the pharmaceutical sector.
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All marigolds have a carotene content of up to 1.4%. However, the Arka Shubha variety of marigold has a
carotene content of 2.8%, which is the highest content from a plant source
The Arka Shubha variety is of use in the poultry sector as well. Its petals could be used as feed to get
quality yolk. It is used as feed for sheep too.
These flowers can be sold for ornamental purpose too.
There is always a high demand for carotene in the pharma sector. Presently, India imports most of its
carotene from China and other countries.
It is better to take up the carotene extraction venture through farmers’ groups as a large area is needed
for marigold cultivation. This also provides scope for exports
The trial protocol of the Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine (BBV154) as
sought by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is a?
a. Intranasal Vaccine
b. Oral Vaccine
c. VEinal Vaccine
d. None of the above
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Demanded by the state Assembly in the case of the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and
Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, a “Division of Vote” can be held in which of the following
methods?
1. By operating the Automatic Vote Recording Equipment;
2. By distributing ` Ayes' and ` Noes' slips in the House; and
3. By members going into the Lobbies.
a. 2 alone b. 1 and 2 c. All of the above d. None of the above
Answer – C
NOTE: Matters in parliamentary democracy are generally decided by voting. In parliamentary
parlance this is called ‘Division’, i.e. dividing the House to decide a matter by majority vote. Every
matter requiring the decision of the House is decided by means of a question put by the Chairman
on a motion made by a Member. After the motion has been moved, the Speaker formally proposes
or places the motion for consideration of the House. At the end of the debate on the motion, he
puts the motion for the decision of the House in the following terms:
The procedure regarding Voting and Divisions in the House is governed by article 100(1) of the
Constitution and Rules 367, 367A, 367AA and 367B of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of
Business in Lok Sabha.
A voice vote can only be held with the consent of all the members in the house, Even if one member
doesn't give his or her consent in favour of a voice vote, then the house cannot proceed with a
voice vote but it has to go for a division vote.
A. Division: There are three methods of holding a Division, i.e.
(i) By operating the Automatic Vote Recording Equipment;
(ii) By distributing ` Ayes' and ` Noes' slips in the House; and
(iii) By members going into the Lobbies. The Speaker directs the members for "Ayes" to go to the
right Lobby and those for "Noes" to the left Lobby where their votes are recorded. However,
the method of recording of votes in the Lobbies has become obsolete ever since the installation
of the Automatic Vote Recording Machine.
B. Secret Ballot: During an 'open' voting period, the individual results are shown by the three
characters 'A', 'N' and 'O' on the Individual Result Display Panel. Secret voting, if any, is on similar
lines except that the Light Emitting Diode (LED) on the Individual Result Display Panel shows
‘P’ sign in amber light to show that the vote has been recorded.
C. Recording of votes by distribution of slips: The method of recording of votes by members on ` Aye'
and ` No' slips is generally resorted to in the eventuality of
(i) Sudden failure of the working of the Automatic Vote Recording Equipment; and
(ii) at the commencement of the new Lok Sabha, before the seats/division numbers have been
allotted to members.
D. Physical count of Members in their places instead of a formal division: If in the opinion of the Chair,
a Division is unnecessarily claimed, he/she may ask the members who are for ` Aye' and those for
` No', respectively, to rise in their places and on a count being taken, he/she may declare the
determination of the House. In such a case, the particulars of voting of the members are not
recorded.
E. Casting Vote: If in a Division the number of ` Ayes' and ` Noes' is equal, the question is decided by
the casting vote of the Chair. Under the Constitution, the Speaker or the person acting as such
cannot vote in a Division; he/she has only a casting vote which he/she must exercise in the case of
equality of votes
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