8 August 2023

• Polity: The Jan Vishwas Act, 2022 raised concerns about the separation of powers: it transfers penalty authority from courts to bureaucrats in several environmental and other laws.
• Minerals: The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 was passed, allowing private companies to mine six atomic minerals including lithium.
• Climate: A WMO report on the 2022 climate in Asia recorded 25 tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific and Pakistan's worst floods displacing 14 per cent of its population.
• Heritage: Tamil palm leaf manuscripts dating to the 18th century were discovered in an Armenian monastery in Northern Italy.

GS area: Polity, Governance (decriminalisation)

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2022 was notified for implementation in August 2023. It amends 42 Acts across various sectors to replace criminal penalties with monetary fines administered by bureaucratic officers.

• Objective: Remove minor criminal offences from business laws to ease the regulatory burden on enterprises. The government calls this "decriminalisation."
• Sectors covered: Environmental laws (Environment Protection Act, Air Act, Water Act), food safety, drugs, agriculture, and others.
• Separation of powers concern: Critics argue the Act makes the executive both prosecutor and judge in its own regulatory matters. Administrative officers who are part of the government will now decide penalties previously imposed by courts.
• Judicial independence question: Technical adjudicators may lack legal training. Their decisions will be subject to appeal, but the primary forum shifts from judiciary to bureaucracy.
• Quasi-decriminalisation: The offences are not truly removed; jail is replaced by fines. Opponents argue the penalty amount is insufficient to deter large entities while being burdensome for small ones.

Static linkage: Regulatory governance, judicial independence, ease of doing business (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Economy (minerals), Science and Technology

Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023. The key change: private companies are now permitted to explore and mine six atomic minerals previously reserved for the government sector.

• Six minerals opened to private mining: Lithium, beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum, and zirconium.
• Earlier restriction: Atomic minerals were listed in Part B of the First Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and could only be mined by government entities.
• Exploration licence: The Bill allows exploration licences of up to 1,000 sq km. The central government will conduct auctions for atomic mineral blocks.
• India's critical mineral dependency: India is 100 per cent dependent on imports for lithium, cobalt, and nickel. It has less than 2 per cent of its known mineral resources under active mining.
• Domestic deposits: A lithium reserve of about 5.9 million tonnes was identified in Reasi, J&K in February 2023. Lithium deposits also exist in Rajasthan.
• Global context: China dominates processing of many critical minerals even when mined elsewhere. India's goal is to develop domestic mining and initial processing capacity.

Static linkage: Mineral policy, critical minerals, manufacturing (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Environment, Disaster Management

The World Meteorological Organization's report on Asia's 2022 climate found a year of extreme events.

• Temperature: The global average surface temperature in 2022 was 1.15°C above the pre-industrial average.
• Pakistan floods: The 2022 monsoon floods were described as among the worst in Pakistan's history. They displaced approximately 14 per cent of Pakistan's population.
• Yangtze drought: The Yangtze River basin in China experienced its worst drought in six decades in 2022. Hydropower generation fell. Livestock and crop losses were significant.
• Tropical cyclones: 25 tropical cyclones occurred in the western North Pacific in 2022.
• High Mountain Asia: Glaciers in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalayas continued to lose mass. Glacier retreat threatens long-term water availability for over a billion people downstream.
• India: Economic losses from climate events in India, China, and Pakistan exceeded their 20-year averages in 2022.

Static linkage: Climate change impacts, disaster management (GS Paper 3).

GS area: International Relations, Geography, Energy

The Arash-Dorra gas field in the northern Persian Gulf was in the news over an offshore boundary dispute. It sits at the junction of the territorial waters of Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

• Location: The field was discovered in 1967. It lies in the overlap of maritime claims between the three countries.
• Significance: It is estimated to hold large natural gas reserves. Development has been stalled by the unresolved boundary dispute.
• Production: Limited production has occurred from the Saudi and Kuwaiti portions since 2013. Iran objects to any development without resolving the maritime boundary.
• India's interest: India imports approximately 80 per cent of its crude oil needs. The Persian Gulf accounts for the bulk of these imports. Any development that increases Persian Gulf gas output is relevant to India's energy market.

Static linkage: Persian Gulf geography, energy security, maritime disputes (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Science and Technology, Space

ISRO transferred its IMS-1 satellite bus technology to a private company. This is part of the broader opening of India's space sector to private participation following the Space Policy 2023.

• IMS-1 bus: A small satellite platform of approximately 100 kg in mass with a 330-watt power supply. It was designed for earth observation applications.
• Space Policy 2023: Announced in April 2023, it allows private entities to build and launch satellites, construct launch vehicles, and manage space assets.
• IN-SPACe: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre is the nodal body for authorising and regulating private space activities.
• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL): The commercial arm of ISRO that manages technology transfer and commercial launches.

Static linkage: Space policy, science and technology, private sector (GS Paper 3).

• Deepor Beel wetland: Assam's only Ramsar-listed wetland, located near Guwahati, is under threat from urban encroachment and water hyacinth invasion. Local self-help groups have turned water hyacinth into handicraft products, creating livelihoods.
• Neerakshi AUV: The Defence Research and Development Organisation developed the Neerakshi, an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for mine detection. It is 2.1 metres long and can operate to a depth of 300 metres.
• Adichanallur: An Iron Age archaeological site in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The government laid the foundation for an Iconic Site Museum there. The site has yielded urn burials and artefacts from approximately 1000 BCE.