22 August 2024

• Society: crimes against women rose 4 per cent in 2022 to 4,45,256 cases (approximately 51 FIRs per hour). Delhi has the highest per-capita rate; Uttar Pradesh records the most absolute cases.
• Science: quantum nonlocality, established by John Bell's work in 1964, underpins secure communications and quantum cryptography. The 2022 Nobel Physics Prize recognised this area.
• Astronomy: a super blue moon was visible. It is the combination of a blue moon (second full moon in a calendar month) and a super moon (full moon at perigee, 14 per cent larger, 30 per cent brighter).
• Space: the European Space Agency's JUICE mission, launched in April 2023, is en route to Jupiter's icy moons. It will study Ganymede, Europa and Callisto for signs of habitability by 2031.

GS area: Society, Governance, Polity

The National Crime Records Bureau data for 2022 showed:

• Total cases: 4,45,256 crimes against women registered, a 4 per cent increase over 2021. This is approximately 51 FIR registrations per hour.
• Crime rate: 66.4 per lakh population (using all-India average). Charge sheet rate: 75.8 per cent.
• Breakdown by type: cruelty by relatives (mainly domestic violence) at 31.4 per cent of cases; kidnapping and abduction at 19.2 per cent; assault on women with intent to outrage modesty at 18.7 per cent; rape at 7.1 per cent.
• State comparison: Delhi has the highest crime rate at 144.4 per lakh population. Uttar Pradesh has the most absolute cases (65,743).
• Workplace harassment: over 400 cases under the POSH Act annually since 2018.
• Legal framework: CEDAW (ratified 1993), Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956, POSH Act 2013, Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 (following Nirbhaya), POCSO Act 2012, Domestic Violence Act 2005, Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018.
• NIRBHAYA Fund: established in 2013, used for schemes for women's safety including One Stop Centres and emergency response systems.

The structural reality behind the numbers: crimes against women are consistently under-reported. The actual incidence is far higher than registered cases. At the same time, increased registration can reflect improved access to justice rather than purely increased crime.

Static linkage: women's safety legislation, criminal statistics, social justice.

GS area: Science and Technology

The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is one of the most ambitious planetary science missions underway:

• Launch: April 2023. Uses an unusual double slingshot trajectory: a Moon-Earth gravity assist manoeuvre unique in space exploration history.
• Arrival: Jupiter and its moons by 2031.
• Target moons: Ganymede (largest moon in the Solar System, larger than Mercury), Europa (thought to have a subsurface ocean) and Callisto.
• Scientific objective: determine whether any of these moons could harbour life by studying their subsurface oceans, ice shells and interaction with Jupiter's magnetic field.
• Europa's significance: its subsurface ocean is estimated to contain twice as much liquid water as all of Earth's oceans. The ocean is kept liquid by tidal heating from Jupiter's gravity.
• India's relevance: ISRO is developing its own outer planet exploration roadmap. Understanding ESA's approach informs India's long-term planetary science ambitions.

Static linkage: planetary science, space exploration, astrobiology.

• Portals in news: PROMPT (Portal for Online Monitoring of Projects-Thermal) tracks thermal power project status. JAL VIDYUT DPR is a centralised platform by the Central Electricity Authority for hydroelectric and pumped storage project processing. DRIPS (Disaster Resilient Infrastructure for Power Sector) tracks power sector disaster resilience.
• Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS): established in 1984, operates under the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). Resolves sports disputes through arbitration and mediation. In August 2024, CAS criticised United World Wrestling's weight-in rules in the context of Vinesh Phogat's disqualification. CAS is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Jan Poshan Kendras: 60 Fair Price Shops transformed into Jan Poshan Kendras under the Public Distribution System. These dual-purpose outlets sell PDS items and also stock nutrition-rich foods, diversifying the role of fair price shops. The NABL accreditation of FPS laboratories ensures food quality verification.
• Quantum nonlocality: John Bell's 1964 theorem showed that quantum particles can be correlated across distance in ways that cannot be explained by local hidden variables. This "quantum nonlocality" or "entanglement" is not just a theoretical curiosity. It is the basis for quantum cryptography (unbreakable communication keys), quantum computing and quantum sensing. The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger for experimental verification.