13 November 2023

• Polity: Three criminal law reform bills were introduced to replace the IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act. They introduce community service as a punishment and modernise terminology.
• Science: The Attenborough's echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi) was rediscovered in the Cyclops Mountains of Papua, Indonesia, after no sighting since 1961.
• Disaster Management: India's Cell Broadcast Alert System (CBAS) failed to send alerts during seismic events in Delhi, revealing gaps in India's earthquake early warning infrastructure.
• Geography: The Ben Gurion Canal proposal, a 1960s concept for an alternative to the Suez Canal through Israel's Negev Desert, re-entered discussions amid the Gaza conflict.
• Governance: The three new criminal law bills include decriminalisation of adultery and same-sex relations in line with Supreme Court rulings, and introduce the concept of organised crime.

GS area: Polity (Governance, Law)

Three bills introduced in Parliament aim to replace the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 with new legislation.

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): replaces IPC 1860. Introduces community service as a new form of punishment, reflecting a reformative rather than purely retributive approach. Includes a new section on organised crime and terrorism.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS): replaces CrPC 1973. Expands electronic modes of summons, allows e-FIR, extends provision for Zero FIR.
• Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill: replaces the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Electronic evidence given formal recognition.
• Decriminalisation incorporated: adultery (Section 497 IPC, struck down by SC in 2018) and same-sex relations (Section 377 IPC, partially struck down in 2018 for consensual adult relations) are removed from the new codes.
• Terminology update: "unsound mind" replaced with "mental illness" to align with the Mental Healthcare Act 2017.
• Weights and measures: removed from IPC to avoid overlap with the Legal Metrology Act 2009.

The parliamentary standing committee recommended retaining a gender-neutral version of Section 377 and the adultery offence. The government did not fully accept these recommendations.

Static linkage: Polity (Criminal law, Governance), GS2.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity)

The Attenborough's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi) was rediscovered in the Cyclops Mountains of Papua, Indonesia, by an international expedition. The last documented sighting was in 1961.

• Species profile: named after broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Nocturnal and reclusive. A monotreme: a mammal that lays eggs, like the platypus.
• Other discoveries in the same expedition: a tree-dwelling shrimp, a honeyeater bird not seen since 2008, and underground species.
• Conservation significance: echidnas are among the most evolutionarily distinct mammals. The rediscovery supports the case for protecting Cyclops Mountains' habitat.
• Cyclops Mountains location: a mountain range in the Indonesian province of Papua (West New Guinea).

Static linkage: Environment (Biodiversity, Conservation).

GS area: Disaster Management (Science and Technology)

India's Cell Broadcast Alert System (CBAS), designed to send emergency alerts to mobile devices within a geographic area, failed to send alerts during seismic events near Delhi. The NDMA's seismo.gov.in website also crashed during the tremors.

• What CBAS is: a system developed by C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) under the Department of Telecommunications. Unlike SMS, which goes to specific numbers, cell broadcast reaches all devices in a geographic cell simultaneously.
• Contrast with Google: Google's Android Earthquake Early Warning system activated only in higher-intensity zones, leaving lower-magnitude events uncovered.
• Why earthquake early warning matters: even a 10-30 second warning allows people to take protective action before shaking reaches dangerous levels.
• Gaps exposed: India's earthquake early warning infrastructure is fragmented and relies on voluntary adoption by device manufacturers and carriers.

Static linkage: Disaster Management (Science and Technology, Governance).

GS area: International Relations (Geography)

The 1960s-era Ben Gurion Canal proposal, a concept for a canal through Israel's Negev Desert connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, re-entered geopolitical discussions.

• Background: conceptualised by David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), Israel's founding father and first Prime Minister. The proposal aimed to break Egypt's monopoly over the Suez Canal route.
• Suez Canal basics: 193 km long, completed in 1869, artificial sea-level waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Operated by the Suez Canal Authority of Egypt.
• Why it resurfaces: trade disruption during the Israel-Gaza conflict prompted questions about alternative shipping routes.
• Challenges: the Ben Gurion Canal would require nuclear excavation (originally proposed using nuclear blasts), is logistically complex, and faces security concerns in a region at war.

Static linkage: World Geography (Waterways, International Trade).

GS area: Governance (Media)

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting approved the Digital Advertisement Policy 2023. The Central Bureau of Communication (established 8 December 2017, integrating DAVP, DFP and S&DD) will manage government outreach through digital channels.

• Coverage: digital audio, OTT services, video-on-demand, mobile applications and social media.
• Transparency mechanism: competitive bidding for rate discovery rather than fixed government rates.
• CBC background: integrates three legacy government advertising bodies into a single agency to modernise government communication.

Static linkage: Governance (Media, Policy).

GS area: Economy (Infrastructure Finance)

The National Highways Authority of India accepted its first Insurance Surety Bond in place of a Bank Guarantee for a Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) project. Over 40 surety bonds have since been issued for NHAI contracts.

• What a surety bond is: a three-party agreement between a principal (the contractor), a surety (the insurance company) and the obligee (NHAI). The surety guarantees the principal's performance.
• Advantage over bank guarantees: frees up bank lines of credit for the contractor. Banks are no longer holding large collateral against which they can't lend.
• Ministry of Finance recognition: e-bank guarantees and insurance surety bonds are accepted at par with traditional bank guarantees.
• Policy purpose: boosting private participation in highway infrastructure by improving liquidity for contractors.

Static linkage: Economy (Infrastructure, Finance).

• Ragging in educational institutions: the death of a 17-year-old at Jadavpur University highlighted persisting ragging incidents. The Supreme Court banned ragging nationwide in 2001. Tamil Nadu enacted the first anti-ragging legislation in 1997. UGC issued comprehensive anti-ragging guidelines in 2009 with a 12-language helpline.
• Ao and Sumi Naga communities: the Ao Naga (Mokokchung district, Nagaland) celebrate the Moatsü Festival in May. The Sumi Naga (Zunheboto district) celebrate the Tülüni Festival on 8 July. Both communities are Scheduled Tribes. The Ao Naga were the first Naga community to convert to Christianity.