23 July 2023

• National symbols: July 22 is observed as National Flag Adoption Day, marking the Constituent Assembly's adoption of the Indian national flag on 22 July 1947.
• Legislation: The Mediation Bill 2023 was tabled with a reduced mandatory mediation period (180 days, down from 360 days) before formal litigation can proceed.
• Social security: The Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana was extended and modified: the waiting period for cash benefits after job loss was reduced to 30 days.
• Defence: IAF's first C-295 aircraft (from the Tata-Airbus contract) was expected to be delivered in September 2023 from the Airbus facility in Spain.
• International: Jazz legend Tony Bennett died on July 21, 2023 at the age of 96, two years to the day after the death of his friend Amy Winehouse.

GS area: Polity, History

India observes July 22 as National Flag Adoption Day, marking the day the Constituent Assembly adopted the national flag in its current form in 1947.

• Constituent Assembly session: On 22 July 1947, the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Indian tricolour. The session was presided over by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
• Evolution of the flag: The Swaraj flag of the Indian National Congress used the spinning wheel (charkha). The Congress Flag Committee, led by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, recommended replacing the charkha with the Ashoka Chakra (the 24-spoked wheel from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath).
• The Ashoka Chakra: Represents the eternal wheel of dharma (dharmachakra). It has 24 spokes corresponding to 24 hours of the day, symbolising that the nation must be in motion at all times.
• Flag Code of India 2002: Consolidated the rules governing hoisting and use of the national flag. The 2022 amendment allowed citizens to hoist the flag at their homes for the entire day and night (previously only allowed during daylight hours), enabling the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.
• Khadi requirement: The Flag Code originally required the national flag to be made only from handspun, handwoven khadi. A 2022 amendment permitted machine-made polyester for the Har Ghar Tiranga drive.

Static linkage: Constituent Assembly, national symbols, Flag Code.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The Mediation Bill 2023 was introduced in Parliament to give statutory backing to pre-litigation mediation as a method of dispute resolution.

• What is mediation: A voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral mediator helps parties reach a mutually acceptable settlement. Unlike arbitration or adjudication, the mediator does not impose a decision.
• Pre-litigation requirement: The Bill requires parties to attempt mediation before filing a suit in civil courts. The period was originally proposed at 360 days but was reduced to 180 days.
• Mediation Council of India: The Bill establishes a statutory body to regulate mediation service providers and maintain a registry of mediators.
• Enforceability: A mediated settlement agreement would be final, binding, and enforceable as a decree of a civil court.
• Policy rationale: India's courts face extreme case backlog. The Mediation Bill is part of a set of alternatives to litigation alongside the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 and the Commercial Courts Act 2015.

Static linkage: Judiciary, legal reform, ADR.

GS area: Economy, Social Justice

The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) extended the Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) with improved terms.

• What ABVKY is: A social protection scheme for factory and establishment workers insured under ESIC. Workers who have lost their jobs due to retrenchment or closure can claim a cash relief.
• Cash relief amount: 50 per cent of the average daily earnings of the insured worker, paid for a maximum of 90 days.
• Waiting period change: Reduced from 90 days to 30 days after the date of job loss. This allows workers to access relief faster.
• Coverage gap: Gig workers, platform workers, and those in the informal sector are not covered by ESIC and cannot access ABVKY. This remains a significant social protection gap in India.
• ESIC: Established under the Employees' State Insurance Act 1948. Provides medical, maternity, disablement, and dependents' benefits alongside unemployment cash relief.

Static linkage: Labour, social security, ESI Act.

GS area: Environment, Governance, Economy

NITI Aayog updated two major energy-climate data tools for India.

• ICED 3.0 (India Climate Energy Dashboard): An open online platform with over 500 parameters tracking India's clean energy transition in near real-time. It integrates data from the Ministry of Power, MNRE, MoPNG, MoEFCC, and other agencies.
• IESS 2047 (India Energy Security Scenarios): A scenario-modelling tool letting users simulate the impact of different energy policy choices on supply, demand, imports, and emissions from 2022 to 2047. Version 3.0 added new technology options and improved the renewable energy modules.
• India's energy targets by 2030: 500 GW non-fossil fuel power capacity, 50 per cent of electricity from non-fossil sources, 45 per cent reduction in emissions intensity of GDP compared to 2005, and 1 billion tonnes reduction in cumulative CO2 emissions.

Static linkage: Climate policy, renewable energy, NITI Aayog.

GS area: Defence, Science and Technology

The first of the 56 C-295 transport aircraft ordered by the Indian Air Force from Airbus was expected to be delivered in September 2023.

• The deal: A 21,935-crore-rupee contract signed in 2021 between the Ministry of Defence and Airbus. 16 aircraft are to be built in Seville, Spain; 40 will be manufactured in India by a joint venture of Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space.
• Replaces: The Avro HS-748, a British turboprop transport aircraft procured in the 1960s, which the C-295 will replace in the IAF's tactical transport fleet.
• Make in India significance: This is the first time a complete military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private sector company. The Indian-built aircraft will carry indigenous content.
• C-295 role: Medium tactical transport carrying 71 fully equipped troops or 50 paratroopers. Also used for maritime patrol and search-and-rescue.

Static linkage: Defence procurement, Make in India, aerospace.

• Tony Bennett: American jazz and traditional pop singer who died on July 21, 2023 at 96. Known for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." This is included as a widely tested cultural current affairs item for government exam GK sections.
• Biofortified foods: Foods where the nutritional content (iron, zinc, vitamins) has been enhanced through plant breeding rather than post-harvest fortification. ICRISAT and CGIAR centres have developed biofortified varieties of sorghum, pearl millet, wheat, and rice for Indian conditions.
• BDL CMD: Bharat Dynamics Limited (a government defence PSU manufacturing anti-tank guided missiles and torpedoes) appointed Cmde Siddharth Mishra as Chairman and Managing Director.
• SemiconIndia 2023: A Government of India initiative to attract global semiconductor companies to invest in India. The 2023 event was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.