20 September 2023

• International: India-Canada diplomatic crisis: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian government involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
• Polity: The Women's Reservation Bill passed Lok Sabha with 454 votes in favour and 2 against.
• Economy: Kisan Rin Portal launched as a digital platform for farmer credit data.
• Science: STEPS instrument on Aditya-L1 began initial solar particle measurements.

GS area: International Relations (India-Canada, diaspora, terrorism)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament on 18 September that Canadian intelligence had credible allegations of Indian government involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023. Canada expelled an Indian diplomat.

• Hardeep Singh Nijjar: a Canadian citizen designated as a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020 for alleged links to Khalistan Tiger Force.
• India's response: India rejected the allegations as "absurd and motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in reciprocal action.
• Bilateral history: Canada-India relations have been strained by the Khalistan movement. Pro-Khalistan demonstrations in Canadian cities, including at Indian diplomatic missions, have been a recurring grievance. Canada's large Punjabi diaspora (over 770,000 Sikhs) makes the issue domestically sensitive for Canadian politicians.
• Diplomatic track: Canada recalled its High Commissioner from New Delhi; India asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence in India to parity with the Indian mission in Canada.
• Intelligence basis: Canada shared what it called "credible allegations" with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. India demanded the evidence, which Canada did not provide to India at this stage.

Static linkage: international relations (India-Canada, diaspora politics, Khalistan).

GS area: Polity (Parliament, gender, constitutional amendment)

The Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) on the evening of 20 September 2023 with a division of votes showing 454 in favour and 2 against.

• Majority required: a constitutional amendment under Article 368 requires a special majority: more than half the total membership of the House and two-thirds of members present and voting.
• Total Lok Sabha strength: 543 elected members plus 2 nominated Anglo-Indian members (position was being phased out by this very Bill). The votes met both conditions comfortably.
• Opposition positions: most Opposition parties supported the Bill but criticised the delayed implementation (pending census and delimitation). The SP, AIMIM and a few others questioned the lack of sub-reservation for OBC women within the reserved category.
• OBC sub-reservation: the Bill does not create sub-reservation for OBC women. This was the main critique. SC and ST women get sub-reservation within existing SC/ST reserved seats.
• Historical parallel: the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992-93) mandated one-third reservation for women in Panchayats and urban local bodies. The Women's Reservation Bill extends this principle to legislative bodies.

Static linkage: polity (Parliament, constitutional amendment, Article 368, gender).

GS area: Governance (agriculture, digital services)

The Kisan Rin Portal was launched to create a unified digital platform integrating farmer credit data from the Kisan Credit Card scheme and various agricultural loan databases.

• Purpose: allow banks, cooperatives and government departments to access a farmer's credit history, outstanding loans and eligibility for new credit in real time.
• Kisan Credit Card: the KCC scheme provides short-term credit for crop cultivation, maintenance of farm assets and consumption needs. It was launched in 1998.
• Problem addressed: credit data was siloed across banks, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies and cooperative credit institutions. Farmers often cannot get credit from a new lender because their existing liabilities are invisible.
• Integration with Agri-stack: the portal is part of the broader Agri-stack digital public infrastructure for agriculture: a digital layer of farmer ID (PM-KISAN database), land records and credit data.
• Ministry: Ministry of Finance in coordination with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Static linkage: governance (agriculture, digital services), economy (agricultural credit).

GS area: Science and Technology (space, solar physics)

The SupraThermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS) on the Aditya-L1 spacecraft began collecting data on energetic particles in near-Earth space as the spacecraft was still in its Earth-bound orbit-raising phase.

• STEPS purpose: measures supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons in the energy range of 20 keV to 5 MeV. This helps understand the near-Earth radiation environment.
• Two modules: STEPS consists of six sensors looking in different directions. One module looks sunward; the other looks away.
• Why data was collected in Earth orbit: collecting data before the spacecraft leaves Earth's magnetosphere gives scientists a baseline measurement of particle flux in different radiation environments.
• Science value: understanding how energetic particles accelerate and propagate is central to space weather prediction.

Static linkage: science and technology (Aditya-L1, space physics).

GS area: International Relations (trade law), Economy

The inaugural South Asia Conference on International Trade Law organised by UNCITRAL was held in India.

• UNCITRAL: the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. It develops uniform rules and model laws for international commercial transactions.
• Significance for India: as India pursues more FTAs and has growing cross-border investment disputes, familiarity with international trade law is important for India's legal community and policymakers.
• Model laws: UNCITRAL's model laws on arbitration (1985, revised 2006) and e-commerce have been adopted by many countries. India's Arbitration and Conciliation Act is based partly on the UNCITRAL model.

Static linkage: international relations (trade law), economy (arbitration, investment).

GS area: Culture (performing arts, awards)

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards were created to honour performing artists aged 75 or above who had not previously received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The inaugural batch was announced around this period.

• Sangeet Natak Akademi: India's national academy for performing arts, established in 1953 under the Ministry of Culture. It gives annual awards in music, dance, theatre, traditional/folk/tribal performing arts and puppetry.
• Three central Akademis: Sangeet Natak Akademi (performing arts), Sahitya Akademi (literature) and Lalit Kala Akademi (visual arts) form the triad of India's national cultural institutions.
• Amrit Awards rationale: the centenary (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) programme created this award to recognise senior artists who slipped through the recognition net.

Static linkage: culture (performing arts institutions), governance.

• SHREYAS Scheme: four sub-schemes (Padho Pardesh, Dr Ambedkar Post-Matric Scholarship, National Overseas Scholarship for SC students, Top Class Education Scheme) forming the SHREYAS umbrella for SC and OBC empowerment in education.
• Narmada River: recalled as a geography anchor. India's largest west-flowing river. The Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada is the second-largest dam by volume in India. It has been controversial for displacing tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Neuralink human trials: the Elon Musk-owned brain-computer interface company began recruitment for its first human trials. Regulatory approval was from the US FDA. The technology is designed for patients with severe paralysis.