27 July 2023

• History: Amitav Ghosh's new book "Smoke and Ashes" examined the Opium Wars and the role of British India in global opium trade, bringing Sino-British history back into discussion.
• Environment: A Greenland ice core analysis showed that Greenland was ice-free 416,000 years ago, when global sea levels were 20 feet higher than today, raising alarm about current CO2 trajectories.
• Legislation: The Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021 passed Parliament with AYUSH exemptions and significant decriminalisation of violations.
• Parliament: India has seen 27 No Confidence Motions since Independence, with the latest moved against the Modi government in 2023.
• Education: UNESCO's annual Global Education Monitor report recommended a worldwide ban on smartphones in schools.

GS area: World History

Amitav Ghosh's book "Smoke and Ashes" traces the history of opium through British colonial trade, placing Bengal and Bihar at the centre of the global narcotics trade in the 19th century.

• Opium cultivation in India: The British East India Company (and later the Crown) established opium cultivation in the Ganges plains (Bihar) and Rajputana as a state monopoly. Patna opium was considered the highest quality.
• China trade: The British used opium as payment to China for tea, silk, and porcelain, reversing a trade deficit. China's Qing dynasty tried to suppress the import.
• First Opium War (1839-42): Triggered by Commissioner Lin Zexu's seizure and destruction of 20,000 chests of opium in Canton. Britain defeated China. The Treaty of Nanking (1842) ceded Hong Kong to Britain, opened five treaty ports, and imposed an indemnity.
• Second Opium War (1856-60): Triggered by the Arrow incident (boarding of a British-registered ship). Britain and France defeated China. The Peking Convention (1860) legalised opium importation into China.
• Legacy: The phrase "century of humiliation" in Chinese historical memory refers to this period of unequal treaties. The Opium Wars explain a significant part of contemporary Chinese foreign policy identity.

Static linkage: World history, colonialism, India-China historical connections.

GS area: Environment, Polity

The Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021 (passed as an Act in 2023) amended the Biological Diversity Act 2002.

• Biological Diversity Act 2002: Enacted to give effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992). Establishes three tiers of biodiversity governance: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards, and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level.
• AYUSH exemption: The Amendment exempts Indian traditional medicine practitioners (AYUSH) and codified traditional knowledge (documented in traditional texts) from the prior approval and benefit-sharing requirements of the 2002 Act. Domestic AYUSH companies using codified knowledge now need to register (not seek approval) with the State Biodiversity Board.
• Decriminalisation: The 2002 Act made violations cognisable (arrestable) offences. The Amendment decriminalises most violations, replacing criminal penalties with civil fines. This aligns with the government's broader decriminalisation agenda.
• Critics' concern: Environmentalists argued that the AYUSH exemption creates a loophole for companies to commercialise biological resources under the guise of traditional knowledge without benefit-sharing.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, environment law, traditional knowledge.

GS area: Environment, Science and Technology

A landmark study published in the journal Science found that Greenland was ice-free at least once in the past 416,000 years, during a period of warming when global sea levels were 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 metres) higher than today.

• The evidence: Plant remains (moss, leaf fragments) found at the base of an ice core drilled in Greenland. The organic material could only have been deposited on bare ground during an ice-free period.
• Period: The interglacial period approximately 416,000 years ago. CO2 levels then were approximately 280 parts per million, lower than today's level (which has crossed 420 ppm and rising).
• Implication: If natural warming could melt Greenland at CO2 levels lower than today's, the current trajectory puts the complete Greenland ice sheet at risk of melting on a millennial timescale. This would raise global sea levels by approximately 7 metres.
• Tipping points: Greenland's ice sheet is considered a potential climate tipping point, where melting beyond a threshold becomes self-reinforcing (albedo feedback, freshwater discharge affecting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation).

Static linkage: Climate change, cryosphere, sea level rise.

GS area: Polity

The Opposition filed a No Confidence Motion against the Modi government in July 2023. India has seen 27 No Confidence Motions since Independence. This was the 28th such motion.

• Constitutional basis: Article 75(3): the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. A government must resign if it loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha.
• Procedure: Under Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha Rules, a Notice of No Confidence is given in writing to the Speaker. If it secures initial support of at least 50 members (through a show of hands or division), it is admitted. A time is set for debate, usually within 10 days.
• Historical record: Indira Gandhi's government in 1979 and V.P. Singh's in 1990 are examples of motions that succeeded. The 1999 Atal Bihari Vajpayee government fell by a single vote on a No Confidence Motion.
• Motivation for the 2023 motion: The Opposition stated they wanted to force the government to make a statement on Manipur. The motion was debated but the government won comfortably given its Lok Sabha numbers.

Static linkage: Parliament, constitutional law, government accountability.

GS area: Education, Governance

UNESCO's Global Education Monitor Report 2023 recommended that countries consider banning or restricting smartphones in schools.

• UNESCO's finding: 16 per cent of students globally are enrolled in school systems that have smartphone bans. In countries that have introduced bans (France in 2018, for instance), student results improved and distraction and cyberbullying declined.
• India's context: India has no uniform national policy on smartphones in schools. Several states have individual policies, but enforcement is patchy.
• UNESCO's position: The recommendation does not call for a blanket global ban but suggests that policymakers evaluate their specific context. The focus is on "child-centred digital transformation" that prioritises learning outcomes over technology access per se.

Static linkage: Education, digital governance, child rights.

• National Tiger Day (International): Observed on July 29 annually. Launched at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010. India hosts approximately 75 per cent of the world's wild tiger population.
• India's No Confidence Motion 2023: Moved by the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc. Debate ran over two days. PM Modi spoke on Manipur. Government won with a comfortable majority.
• Climate tipping points: Scientific consensus identifies several: Arctic sea ice, Greenland ice sheet, Amazon rainforest, and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) among the most discussed.
• Convention on Biological Diversity: The CBD was signed in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. Its three objectives are conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.