DAILY NEWS DIARY FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS - 22.01.2021 Of
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 22.01.2021
DAILY NEWS DIARY
Of
22.01.2021
FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 22.01.2021
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 22.01.2021
INDEX
Essay Paper
Editorial
1. Prolonged detention of death row convicts in prison is inhuman …………………………..…………………..04
GS 2
International Relations
1. Poles apart administrative style changes in the U.S …………………………………………………………………..05
GS 3
Economic Development
1. Need of the hour today is not just a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) ………………………………………08
Snippets
1. Vaccination drive induced Economic Growth……………………………………………………………..…………….09
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DAILY NEWS DIARY 22.01.2021
ESSAY PAPER
EDITORIAL
Q – Justify with examples how prolonged detention of death row convicts in prison is inhuman along
with suggestions on what can be done to bring it to justice?
INTRODUCTION =The delay in carrying out the death penalty is one of the reasons to review India’s
position on capital punishment. The debate on the efficacy of the death penalty in reducing crime has
been going on for several decades. In India, 102 convicts were awarded the death sentence in 2019, raising
the total number of death row prisoners to 378. Death row convicts have suffered imprisonment up to 25
years.
A few years ago, the issue of abolishing capital punishment was raised in the Rajya Sabha but was rejected
by a voice vote.
Through its report in 2015, the Law Commission of India proposed abolishing the death penalty and sought
the comments of States and Union Territories on the subject. Despite reminders, just 14 States responded
by 2018. Of these, 12 States rejected the proposal, while Karnataka and Tripura concurred.
India figures among the 56 nations in the world that have retained the death penalty, while 142 have
abolished it either by practice or by law.
a. In 2019, the Sri Lankan government put an end to its four-decades-long moratorium on capital
punishment when then President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the execution of four drug offenders. He
claimed that the move would end the addiction problem in the country.
b. According to Amnesty International, thousands of Chinese are executed in that country every year, though
such executions are classified as secret information.
c. In 2018, Iran executed 253 convicts and Saudi Arabia executed 149.
However, the total number of executions across the world came down in 2018 to 690 from 993 in 2017.
Effects -
1. While the debate on abolition of the death penalty goes on, the delay in the execution of death row
convicts coupled with long years of solitary confinement leads to psychological trauma for them.
2. The prolonged detention of death row convicts in prison is not just inhuman but also against the canons
of justice.
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3. It is a small wonder that the courts tend to take a lenient view and reduce the sentence when such cases
of prolonged years of detention come before them.
Understanding through a CASE STUDY –
Balwant Singh Rajoana, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassin, was sentenced to death in
2007 by a special CBI court. His mercy petition was filed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak
Committee in 2014. In 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter to the Punjab government to
commute Rajoana’s death sentence. It said it had taken an “in principle” decision to commute the death
sentence as a “humanitarian gesture” ahead of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak
Dev. But its decision could not be implemented because the Cabinet did not send the file to the President.
Rajoana has been incarcerated for over 25 years. The Supreme Court pulled up the government for its
laxity and fixed the next hearing for sometime in January 2021.
WAY FORWARD –
It goes to the credit of former President Pranab Mukherjee that during his term, he disposed of 34 mercy
petitions that had been pending for years. Thus learning from that –
1. A time frame needs to be fixed for the President to dispose of mercy petitions.
2. The lack of accountability of various officials in the government and the courts have adversely affected
our criminal justice system.
Delays in investigations, court hearings and administrative steps to be taken after the final verdict need
to be inquired into, and responsibility fixed.
GS 2
International Relations
`Q – Comment on the poles apart administrative style changes in the U.S and how the new policies are
going to impact India?
BACKGROUND = The Biden presidency began with a flurry of activity, with the new President signing 17
executive orders, memos and directives on his first day in office, including on climate change, the
pandemic, immigration and equality. He began dismantling significant parts of the legacy of his
predecessor, Donald Trump, including by officially bringing America back into the Paris Climate Accord.
With regard to domestic climate policy, Mr. Biden cancelled the permit for Keystone XL, an almost 1,931-
km pipeline that brings crude into the U.S. from Canada. The permit was first denied in 2015 by former
President Barack Obama and granted in 2017 by Mr. Trump. He also issued a moratorium on oil and
natural gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and reversed a Trump administration rollback of
Obama-era vehicle emission rules.
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Mr. Biden also stopped the U.S.’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization due to the “crucial” role
it plays in combating COVID-19 and other health challenges. His first executive order, however, was about
COVID-19, and mandated the wearing of face-masks on federal government property and encouraged
people to wear masks for 100 days. More than 4,00,000 Americans have died due to the virus. He also re-
established an Obama-era National Security Council unit that deals with world health security and
biodefence.
Mr. Biden repealed Mr. Trump’s near-ban on travel to the U.S. from 13 Muslim-majority countries
(colloquially known as the “Muslim ban”). The policy has been in place since January 2017 and had
survived challenges in the U.S. Supreme Court. He also signed a memo asking the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a
programme allowing individuals brought illegally to the U.S. as children, reprieve from deportation.
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Mr. Biden also stopped the construction of the wall with Mexico — a pet project of Mr. Trump which had
included the redirection of some $10 billion from Defence accounts. Mr. Biden ordered a review of funds
diverted to building the wall.
Mr. Biden also dismantled Mr. Trump’s “1776 Commission” that was set up to promote “patriotic
education” to children but has been criticised for whitewashing the country’s history of racism. He also
signed an order enforcing prohibitions on the federal government from discriminating on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity, reversing some Trump-era actions.
Thus With his nearly five decades-long political career in Washington, he is probably better placed than
his peers in navigating dangerous political waters. A record of ideological flexibility and the ability to reach
across the political aisle gives Biden the opportunity to rebuild a bipartisan political centre that can
produce long overdue economic, political and social change that is so essential for American unity and
renewal.
For Prelims –
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GS 3
Economic Development
Q - The need of the hour today is not just a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), to fight the modern
day war. But A Revolution in Bureaucratic Affairs (RBA). Comment?
BACKGROUND = 2020 was a unique year with twin challenges — the COVID-19 pandemic and the
“belligerence on our northern borders”. The events of the past year have brought to the fore the
vulnerability of global supply chains. On this note the Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Naravane,
said that considering the quick pace of defence modernisation being undertaken by India’s adversaries,
the country was lagging behind slightly. Continued heavy dependence of the armed forces on imports
needed to be addressed through indigenous capability development, but one cannot afford to have
“operational voids when the enemy is at the gates”.
There are close to two dozen spots along the entire length of the LAC in all sectors where India and China
do not agree on its alignment. China had earlier built a permanent construction of military barracks in this
area along the border separating Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, on the banks of the Tsari Chu river in Upper
Subansiri district in Arunachal.. And now the construction of the village there has been seen by analysts
as a move to bolster China’s claim to the area, and part of a broader recent push by China to build civilian
settlements in disputed frontier areas, which it has also done with Bhutan. Indian officials said this area
has been under Chinese control since 1959.
SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE CONSTRUCTIONS –
Thus An important issue one needs to keep in mind is that indigenous development alone cannot fill the
existing... and operational voids due to lack of niche technology and manufacturing capability. Hence,
there may be some inescapable need on certain percentage of imports. While Seventy-five percent of the
Army’s Priority-1 projects in the 13th Army Plan, costing over ₹1.5 lakh crore were marked for Make in
India programmes, noting that also nothing is more motivating for any Army than to fight and win its wars
with indigenous technologies and weapons.
Gen. Naravane called for greater flexibility in the interpretation of the procurement process to speed up
the process now. “As the need of the hour today is not just a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), to fight
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the modern day war. A Revolution in Bureaucratic Affairs (RBA) is also required to fast track relevant and
future capability development.
Snippets
Economic Development
Q – Explain why India is looking forward for Vaccination drive induced Economic Growth?
The shape of the recovery will be V-shaped after all and the ‘V’ stands for vaccine. As the economy is
within striking distance of attaining positive growth through the success of the Centre unveiled
vaccination drive on January 16 to protect people from COVID-19.
India’s vaccination drive is backed by its comparative advantage of having the largest vaccine
manufacturing capacity in the world and a rich experience of mass inoculation drives against polio and
measles.
E-commerce and digital technologies will likely be the bright spots in a recovery in a world in which there
will be rebounds for sure, but pre-pandemic levels of output and employment are a long way off.
Recent shifts in the macroeconomic landscape have brightened the outlook, with GDP in striking distance
of attaining positive territory and inflation easing closer to the target – 3.75%
In the first half of 2021-22, GDP growth will benefit from statistical support and is likely to be mostly
consumption-driven. With rabi sowing surpassing the normal acreage way before the end of the season,
bumper agriculture production is expected in 2021.
The slippage ratios have been falling and loan recoveries are improving even as provisioning coverage
ratios have risen above 70%.
Capital infusion and innovative ways of dealing with loan delinquencies will occupy policy attention in
order to ensure that finance greases the wheels of growth on a durable basis before the demographic
dividend slips away
It will take years for the economy to mend and heal, but innovative approaches can convert the pandemic
into opportunities. Will the Union Budget 2021-22 be the game-changer? Is the next big question.
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Which of the following amendments to the Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA) 2020,
have been accused to be a crackdown on NGO’s according to the International Commission
of Jurists?
1. There is a capping of the administrative expenses of NGOs at 20% of their foreign
donations.
2. The new amendment requires them to have a State Bank of India account at a Delhi
Branch.
3. It also gives sweeping powers to the Ministry of Home Affairs to cancel the FCRA
certificate of an NGO.
4. NGO can act as pressure groups that mobilise public opinion against government’s
policies and actions.
a. 3 only b. 1 and 3
c. 1,2,3 d. All of the above
Hey from yesterday….
The recently setup high powered panel Irdai Committee proposes recommendations in
which of the following fields?
a. Traffic Violation Premium
b. Farm laws
c. Anti-Conversion Bills
d. Defence Procurement Policy
Answer – A
NOTE: a committee set up by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai)
has proposed that a “traffic violation premium” should be added to the vehicle insurance policy,
the High-Powered committee for Traffic Management in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of
Delhi has recommended this proposal to be run on a pilot basis in the NCT. All general insurers
registered in the country will have to make changes in their IT systems to mandatorily collect and
account for this premium as a separate and additional fifth section. This section will float over both
Own Damage (OD) and Third Party (TP) sections of motor insurance and can be attached to any
section of motor insurance.
This will ensure, regardless of any insurance cover a motor owner wants to buy, the person will be
subjected to traffic violation premium, unless he already has in force a motor insurance policy
wherein traffic violation premium has already been paid. This means if the vehicle is involved in
traffic violations, premium will rise.
According to Ministry of Road Transport, Road Accidents Report issued in 2018, India witnessed
4.67 lakh road accidents that killed 1.51 lakh citizens. India ranks first in the number of road
accident deaths across the 199 countries reported in the World Road Statistics, 2018 followed by
China and US.
The report has recommended a system of calculating traffic violation points basis frequency and
severity of different traffic offences. Insurance Information Bureau of India (IIB) will coordinate
with various States’ Traffic Police and National Informatics Centre to capture the traffic violation
data, calculate violation points of each violating vehicle and make this information available to all
general insurers through IT system integration with insurers.
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