1. India Nuclear triad:

Transcription

1 Topic: miscellaneous 1. India Nuclear triad: Russia seeks 125 cr. to carry out repairs on INS Chakra. Russian authorities have demanded over $20 million for rectifying the damage suffered by nuclear submarine INS Chakra, which was dry docked last week, even as the government is seeking to fix responsibility for the accident. More on the Topic: India completed its nuclear triad with the commissioning of INS Arihant in August 2016.INS Arihant is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine armed with 12 K- 15 missiles with a range of 750 km, which will later be upgraded K-4 missiles with an extended range of 3500 km. In November 2017, it tested the BrahMos missile from the Sukhoi-30 MKI platform. India maintains a no first use nuclear policy and has been developing a nuclear triad capability as a part of its credible minimum deterrence doctrine. India's nuclear-weapons program possesses surface-to-surface missiles such as the Agni III and Agni IV. In addition, the 5, km range Agni-V ICBM was also successfully tested. India has nuclear-capable fighter aircraft such as the Dassault Mirage 2000H, Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, MIG-29 and SEPECAT Jaguar. Land and air strike capabilities are under the control of Strategic Forces Command which is a part of Nuclear Command Authority. 1 P a g e

2 Topic: Culture 2. Kambala:Karnataka s Buffallo Race Supreme Court refuses interim stay on kambala. PETA has opposed the upcoming Kambala festival on grounds of cruelty to animals. More On Kambala: Bullock cart races are held in parts of north Karnataka and in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. The kambala race, held between November and March, involves a pair of buffaloes tied to a plough and anchored by one person. They are made to run in parallel muddy tracks in a competition in which the fastest team wins. It is believed to be held to propitiate the Gods for a good harvest, besides being a recreational sport for farmers. The 'track' used for Kambala is a slushy paddy field. The contest generally takes place between two pairs of buffaloes, each pair race in wet rice fields, controlled by a whip-lashing farmer.historically, the winning pair of buffaloes was rewarded with coconuts and bananas. Today, gold coins, silver coins are given. In traditional form of Kambala, racing is non-competitive, and the pair run one by one in paddy fields. A ritualistic approach is also there, as some agriculturists race their buffaloes for thanks giving for protecting their animals from diseases. 2 P a g e

3 3. Jallikattu Issue: Topic: Indian Polity Jallikattu case has been referred to Supreme court s constitution bench. More on the Topic: The issue before the Supreme Court arises out of Tamil Nadu s amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA Act) made early last year amidst vociferous protests in the State. The amendment discharges the practice of jallikattu, which it defines with a sloppy lack of precision as an event involving bulls conducted with a view to follow tradition and culture, from the various rigours of the PCA Act. The petitioners, including the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, argue that the amending law violates a slew of fundamental rights. What s more, in their belief, the Tamil Nadu government, in any event, lacked the legislative competence to dilute the requirements of the PCA Act. On an examination of these petitions, Justice R.F. Nariman wrote in his order of reference, at least five questions warrant deeper deliberation: Is the amendment an instance of colourable legislation? Can the law be considered as a measure introduced in furtherance of a community s cultural right under Article 29? Was Tamil Nadu s intention in making the amendment aimed at ensuring the survival of a native breed of bulls? Does the exemption granted to jallikattu run counter to some of the fundamental duties imposed by the Constitution, thereby impinging on rights guaranteed by Articles 14 and 21. Finally, has the amending law validly overcome the Supreme Court s 2014 judgment in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja, where the practice of jallikattu was found to o end the PCA Act? Law Provisions: Part III of the Constitution, which lists the various fundamental rights, provides to persons different manners of guarantees, including in Article 14 a right to equality and in Article 21 a right to life. These enumerated rights, however, do not explicitly recognize animals as persons. Indeed, until now, the liberties contained in Part III have largely been understood as promises made to human beings, and, in appropriate cases to associations of human beings, such as corporations, partnerships and other similar entities. Since the Constitution imposed no binding obligation on the state to protect animal welfare, it was left to campaigners to beseech Parliament into enacting a proper law for the purpose. It was to this end that in 1960 the Union government brought into force the PCA Act, which criminalised several different types of actions resulting in cruelty to animals. 3 P a g e

4 The subject of preventing animal cruelty falls in the concurrent list of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, State governments possess an equal authority to determine what actions constitute cruelty to animals within their respective territories. 4 P a g e

5 It was on the basis of this power that the Tamil Nadu government legitimised jallikattu, by amending the PCA Act, and by exempting the practice entirely from the statute s demands. Therefore, this law, which also secured the President s assent, ethically reprehensible as it might seem to us, cannot be described as a colourable legislation. the State s arguments on these grounds, the underlying conflict presents a fascinating constitutional difficulty. Way Forward: To unravel this conundrum, the court can do one of two things: it can simply follow its decision in A. Nagaraja, and hold that animals too possess a right to live with dignity, and, therefore, enjoy a right to life under Article 21. Or, it could hold that this right under Article 21 includes within its ambit a larger freedom to live in a society free of animal cruelty. In the case of the first approach, it would necessitate a nding from the court that animals are legal persons. Paradoxically, therefore, for the present, any e ort at securing animal welfare will have to be grounded in our own rights as human beings. If such a reading of Article 21 allows for a kinder, more compassionate society, where animals are treated with dignity, it is perhaps the interpretation that the Supreme Court must prefer. But the court will have to be exceedingly cautious here. It mustn t, in endeavouring to read Article 21 widely, borrow generously from the list of fundamental duties contained in Article 51A. Ultimately, the court has two choices: to uphold the law and give in to the occasionally depressing limits of constitutionalism, or to take a plunge into the unknown, in the interests of articulating a morally consistent constitutional theory. Topic: International relations PM recently visited the region. More On the Topic: 4. India west Asia relations With the advent of the new millennium, there has been an extraordinary turnaround in the relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C.) countries and India. Collectively, the G.C.C. countries have become India s preeminent oil and gas supplier and leading trade partner. Indians are the largest expatriate group in each of the six G.C.C. countries. 3,050,000 Indians live and work in Saudi Arabia constituting the largest number of Indian passport holders abroad, followed by 2,800,000 in the U.A.E No major power has the kind of people-to-people socio-cultural compatibility and socio-economic interdependence with countries of the Gulf region, in particular with 5 P a g e

6 G.C.C.countries that India has. Except for continuing O.I.C. activism relating to Kashmir in particular, there are no bilaterally contentious political issues between India and the G.C.C. countries. The deadly terrorist attacks in November 2008 in Mumbai was a watershed the G.C.C. countries finally recognized the potential dangers to the region of Pakistanisponsored terrorism against India. These attacks were strongly and unequivocally condemned though without explicitly naming Pakistan. However, since then in particular Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. have provided excellent and expanding antiterrorism cooperation by repatriating those India wanted for terrorist activity within India despite intensive efforts by Pakistan to prevent such repatriations even going to the extent of often claiming that those persons were Pakistani nationals. The cooperation extended is much more than what is in the public domain. Already excellent relations with the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have developed even further since Narendra Modi became India s Prime Minister in May India s relations with Iraq and Iran are on the upswing as well. It merits mention that though India did not even have an Ambassador in Baghdad from 2004 to 2011 due to security considerations, Iraq s economic relationship with India has been among Iraq s top three global economic partnerships in recent years and is growing rapidly. It is now the second largest oil supplier to India. The Indo-Iranian economic relationship is also poised for a dramatic upsurge. On May 24, 2016, Prime Minister Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed a historic deal to develop the strategic port of Chabaharand thereby open transportand-trade corridor to and through Afghanistan to Central Asia and Europe. India is also hoping to be awarded rights to develop the coveted Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf. 6 P a g e

7 Topic: Social issues 5. Stent prices to dip as govt. announces cap Opting to stay pocket- and patient-friendly, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on Monday announced new stent prices, capping trade margin at 8% and requiring price of catheters, etc. to be mentioned separately during billing. The price of drug-eluting stent (DES) was announced as 27,890 ex GST and bare metal stent (BMS) as 7,660 ex GST. The order will be valid till March 13 next year. The current price of DES stands at 30,180 and BMS at 7,400. The revised price caps will be effective from Tuesday. The NPPA maintained that the price fixation was necessary under the failed and exploitive market system characterised by exorbitant, irrational and restrictive trade margin. The revised rates come as the validity of capping prices of coronary stents ends on February 13. Meanwhile, the government has also invited comments to check the prices of guide wire, balloon catheters and guiding catheters, which are being sold at % margins. ******** National IAS Academy , Lucky Paradise, 2nd floor, 8th 'F' main road, 22nd cross, Opp. ICICI bank, 3rd Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore P a g e