23 December 2023

• Media legislation: Parliament passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, replacing a colonial-era law from 1867.
• Space: ISRO received the Leif Erikson Lunar Prize for Chandrayaan-3's soft landing on the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023.
• Banking: World Bank data showed India's external debt at about $624 billion (18.6 per cent of GNI).
• Wildlife: NTCA issued a Standard Operating Procedure for conserving melanistic tigers found exclusively in Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve.

GS area: Polity (media freedom), Governance

Parliament passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, replacing the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867:

• Simplification: Registration of new publications now takes a maximum of 60 days through an online mechanism, replacing a process that could take 2 to 3 years through district magistrate declarations.
• Decriminalisation: Violations are now handled through financial penalties rather than imprisonment.
• Press and Registration Appellate Board: A new appellate body to handle grievances from publishers.
• Press Registrar General: Powers expanded to suspend or cancel publication certificates.
• Historical context: Press regulation in India has colonial roots: the Censorship of Press Act (1799) under Lord Wellesley, Licensing Regulations (1823) under Lord Amherst, and Vernacular Press Act (1878) under Lord Lytton targeted the regional-language press. Section 124A of the IPC (1870) criminalised seditious speech.

Static linkage: Media freedom, legislative history, press regulation.

GS area: Science and Technology

ISRO received the Leif Erikson Lunar Prize at a ceremony in Iceland for Chandrayaan-3's achievement:

• Achievement: Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing on the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023. India became the first country to land at the lunar south pole.
• Prize: Named after the Norse explorer Leif Erikson. The prize recognises exceptional contributions to space exploration.
• Vikram lander: The landing module, named after ISRO founder Vikram Sarabhai.
• Pragyan rover: The rover deployed after landing. It travelled across the surface gathering soil data.
• Relevance of south pole: Permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole are believed to contain water ice, which would be essential for future lunar habitation and fuel production.

Static linkage: Science and technology, ISRO, India's space programme.

GS area: Environment, Ecology

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) issued a Standard Operating Procedure for the conservation of melanistic tigers:

• Similipal Tiger Reserve: Located in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. It is the only place in the world where melanistic (black) tigers are found in the wild.
• Tiger count: Of 16 tigers in Similipal, 10 are melanistic.
• Cause: A mutation in the Taqpep gene causes the tiger's stripes to broaden and merge into dark patches across the coat, producing the melanistic appearance.
• NTCA SOP: Focuses on inbreeding risk management, as the small isolated population is at risk from loss of genetic diversity. Plans for wildlife corridors to connect Similipal with adjacent forests.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, Project Tiger, genetic conservation.

GS area: Economy (international finance)

The World Bank International Debt Report 2023 provided updated data:

• Global picture: Low and middle-income countries paid $443 billion in debt service in 2022.
• India's external debt: Approximately $624 billion as of March 2023, about 18.6 per cent of Gross National Income.
• India's debt service ratio: Debt service payments equal about 2 per cent of GNI, indicating manageable debt burden.
• Comparisons: India's external debt-to-GNI ratio is below the LMIC average, reflecting the predominantly rupee-denominated nature of India's public debt.

Static linkage: Economy, public debt, international finance.

GS area: Culture, Governance

Kempegowda International Airport Terminal 2 in Bengaluru won the UNESCO Prix Versailles 2023 for interiors:

• UNESCO Prix Versailles: An international architecture and design award given under UNESCO patronage to outstanding public spaces, shops, hotels, campuses, and transport infrastructure.
• T2 achievement: Integrated Karnataka's biodiversity and silk-weaving heritage into the terminal's design. Featured indoor plantations and local art motifs.
• LEED Platinum: The terminal also holds LEED Platinum certification for green building standards.

Static linkage: Culture, architecture, Karnataka heritage.

GS area: Disaster Management, Geography

A probabilistic study of widespread flooding risk by river basin found:

• Narmada basin: 59 per cent probability of widespread flooding in any given year.
• Mahanadi: 50 per cent probability.
• Godavari: 42 per cent.
• Krishna: 38 per cent.
• Cauvery: 19 per cent.
• Himalayan rivers (Ganga and Brahmaputra): Lower flood probability (21 per cent and 18 per cent) for widespread flooding because their larger basins have a transboundary character, distributing precipitation-driven risk across countries.

Static linkage: Rivers, disaster management, physical geography.

• Project PRAYAS: An IOM (International Organisation for Migration) initiative facilitating safe and orderly migration for Indian workers and students going abroad. India's diaspora exceeds 32 million, the world's largest. India is the world's top remittance-receiving country.
• Passports: The modern passport system emerged after the 1914 British Nationality Act codified travel documentation. Indian passport issuance began during WWI under the Defence of India Act 1914.