CURRENT AFFAIRS 01 MARCH 2023

Topic 1: Methane Global Tracker Report

Context: According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report, fossil fuel companies emitted 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019.

Findings of the report

• Global energy sector:
  • The energy sector accounts for around 40 per cent of the total average methane emissions from human activity.
• Contribution of oil and natural gas companies:
  • Oil and natural gas companies are known to release methane into the atmosphere when natural gas is flared or vented.
  • The greenhouse gas is also released through leaks from valves and other equipment during the drilling, extraction and transportation process.
  • More than 260 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas (mostly composed of methane) is wasted through flaring and methane leaks globally today.
  • The right policies and implementation can bring 200 bcm of additional gas to markets.
• How this energy wastage can be reduced?
  • In the oil and gas sector, emissions can be reduced by over 75 per cent by implementing well-known measures such as leak detection and repair programmes and upgrading leaky equipment.
  • 80 per cent of the available options to curb the release of methane could be implemented by the fossil fuel industry at net zero cost.
  • Around 40 per cent of methane emissions from oil and gas operations could be avoided at no net cost because the outlays for the abatement measures are less than the market value of the additional gas that is captured.
  • Ultimately, reducing 75 per cent of the wastage of natural gas could lower global temperature rise by nearly 0.1 degree Celsius by mid-century.

Methane emissions and climate change

• Methane is a greenhouse gas, which is responsible for 30 per cent of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide.
• Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
• The atmospheric levels of methane jumped 17 parts per billion in 2021, beating the previous record set in 2020.
• While carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for much longer than methane, methane is roughly 25 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere, and has an important short-term influence on the rate of climate change.

What is methane?

• Methane (CH4) is a colorless, odorless and highly flammable gas.
• It is composed of carbon and hydrogen.
• It is also a potent greenhouse gas, meaning it affects climate change by contributing to increased warming.
• Methane enters the atmosphere via human-related activities and natural sources.

About IEAThe International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974.The IEA was set up under the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisisAims:provides policy recommendations,analysis and data on the entire global energy sector,analysis and data on curbing carbon emissions and reaching global climate targets, including the Paris Agreement.Members:There are 31 member countries and 11 association countries which represent 75% of global energy demand.Only OECD member states may join the IEA.India is not a member country but an association country.StructureThe Governing Board constitutes the main decision-making body of the organisation.It is composed of member country representatives and meets three to four times a year.The Ministerial Meeting is the biennial gathering of energy ministers who determine the broad direction of the IEA.Standing Groups meet multiple times a year and are made up of officials from member states.

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Topic 2: Windsor Framework

Context: The UK government reached a landmark deal with the European Union (EU) on post-Brexit trade rules that will govern Northern Ireland, namely the Windsor Framework.

Key details:

• The ‘Windsor Framework’ will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol.
• The Northern Ireland Protocol
  • After the UK left the European Union, Northern Ireland remained its only constituent that shared a land border with an EU-member, the Republic of Ireland.
  • EU and UK having different product standards, checks would be necessary before goods could move from Northern Ireland to Ireland.
  • It was decided the checks would be conducted between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland (which together with Great Britain forms the United Kingdom).
  • This was called the Northern Ireland Protocol.
  • Under the protocol, Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market, and trade-and-customs inspections of goods coming from Great Britain took place at its ports along the Irish Sea.

• The Windsor Framework
  • The framework has two crucial aspects:
    • The introduction of a green lane and red lane system for goods that will stay in Northern Ireland and those that will go to the EU respectively; and
    • The ‘Stormont Brake’, which allows Northern Ireland lawmakers and London to veto any EU regulation affects the region adversely.
• What is Stormont Brake
  • The new Stormont Brake means the democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly can oppose new EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives in Northern Ireland.

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Topic 3: India Wins GSMA Government Leadership Award 2023

Context: GSM Association (GSMA) has conferred Government Leadership Award 2023 to India for implementing best practices in telecom policy and regulation.

Key details:

• GSMA, which represents more than 750 mobile operators and 400 companies in the telecom ecosystem, recognizes one country every year.
• The GSMA is an association representing mobile operators and the global mobile industry.
• GSMA’s ‘Government Leadership Award’ recognises world-class leadership in the establishment of sound regulatory policies for mobile connectivity. 

About GSMA

• The GSM Association or Global System for Mobile Communications is an industry organisation.
• It represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
• Formation:
  • The GSMA was formed in 1995 as the ‘GSM MoU Association’.
• Membership and governance
  • Full membership of the GSMA is open to licensed mobile operators using a GSM family technology.
  • Associate membership of the GSMA is open to non-operator companies active in the mobile ecosystem.

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Topic 4: QR Code based coin vending machine

Context: RBI would be launching a pilot project to assess the functioning of a QR-code based coin vending machine.

Key details:

• About QCVM:
  • The Reserve Bank of India is preparing a pilot project on QR code-based Coin Vending Machine (QCVM).
  • This project will be in collaboration with a few leading banks to improve distribution of coins among the public.
  •  
  • The QCVM is a cashless coin dispensation machine, which will dispense coins against a debit to the customer’s bank account using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
  • It will eliminate the need for physical tendering of banknotes and their authentication.
  • Customers would be endowed the option of withdrawing coins in required quantities and denominations.
     
• Need of QCVM:
  • Earlier, the RBI had set up coin vending machines at marketplaces and busy locations.
  • But the problem was that the currency being fed into the machines was very often fake.
  • This prompted the RBI to bypass the currency dependency and use the available UPI network.
• Significance of coins:
  • As per the latest RBI bulletin, the total value of circulation of rupee coins stood at ₹28,857 crore.
  • The figure is an increase of 7.2% from the year-ago period.
  • Circulation of small coins remained unchanged at ₹743 crore.
    • Coins in India are issued in denominations of 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees and twenty rupees.
    • Coins of up to 50 paise are called ‘small coins’ while those of one rupee and above are called ‘rupee coins’.

About Unified Payment Interface:

• What is it?
  • The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a technology that combines multiple banking services into a single mobile app that can be used by any bank that participates.
  • It also works with “Peer-to-Peer” requests, which can be scheduled and paid for based on need and convenience.
  • The Unified Payment Interface is a way to make payments that work in real-time.
• Who launched it?
  • The Reserve Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Indian Banks Association started UPI (IBA).
    • NPCI is in charge of the RuPay payment system, which works like Visa and MasterCard.
    • NPCI also runs the Immediate Payments Service (IMPS) programme.
• UPI for Foreigners:
  • The RBI also announced that it will permit all inbound travellers to use UPI payment for their merchant payments while they are in the country.
  • Initially, this facility will be extended to travellers from G20 countries arriving at select international airports.

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Topic 5: United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Context: Representatives of fugitive ‘godman’ Nithyananda’s self-proclaimed country, the United States of Kailasa (USK), attended a discussion conducted by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva recently.

Key details:

• About USK:
  • The USK isn’t among the 193 countries recognised by the UN.
  • In 2020, Nithyananda claimed to have founded a new country after he bought an island off the coast of Ecuador.
  • The country has a flag, a constitution, an economic system, a passport and an emblem.
• United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR):
  • CESCR is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
    • This treaty was signed in 1966 by its State parties.
  • Established – 1985.
  • India is a member.
  • Aim:
    • The committee seeks to:
      • develop a constructive dialogue with Member States to determine whether the Covenant’s norms are being implemented in Member States and
      • assess how the implementation and enforcement of the Covenant could be improved.
  • CESCR Members are elected for a term of four years by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
    • Members may be re-elected if nominated.
  • Since 2018, the committee has been developing the General Comment, which clarifies the content of the rights set out in a particular treaty.
    • The aim of general comments is to help State parties better implement the rights enshrined in the treaties.

United Nations Economic and Social CouncilThe United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.It is responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization.ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and formulating policy recommendations.Members:It has 54 members which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.Seats on the Council are allocated ensuring equitable geographic rotation among the United Nations regional groups:14 being allocated to the African Group,11 to the Asia-Pacific Group,6 to the Eastern European Group,10 to the Latin American and Caribbean Group and13 to the Western European and Others Group.India was elected as a member for the term 2022-24.Specialized agencies reporting to the Council:Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)International Labour Organization (ILO)International Monetary Fund (IMF)International Maritime Organization (IMO)International Telecommunication Union (ITU)United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)Universal Postal Union (UPU)World Bank Group (WBG)World Health Organization (WHO)World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

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Topic 6: Self Incrimination

Context: The CBI has sought further custody of Delhi’s deputy chief minister. The deputy chief minister has argued that it would be “a travesty” if the court granted remand for self-incrimination. 

Right against self-incrimination

• What is self-incrimination?
  • It is a declaration or an act that occurs during an investigation where a person or witness incriminates themselves either explicitly or implicitly is known as self-incrimination.
• Origin:
  • The right against self-incrimination has its origins in Roman law, and evolved as a distinct right in the English jurisprudence. T
  • he Fifth Amendment in the United States Constitution says “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself without due process of law”.
• Provision in Indian Constitution:
  • The Indian Constitution provides immunity to an accused against self-incrimination under Article 20(3)
  • Article 20(3) in Part III (Fundamental Rights) says, “No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.”

• Article 20(3) vis a vis right against Self-incrimination implies:
  • That a person accused of any offence would be presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty
  • The burden of proving the accused guilty, lies on the prosecution.
  • The accused is not needed to make any statement against his own will.
• Judicial Precedents:
  • State of Bombay vs Kathi Kalu Oghad (1961):
    • The Question before the Court was whether Art 20(3) is violated when the accused is asked to give his handwriting, thumb impression, fingerprint, palmprint etc.
    • The court says that Article 20(3) protects a person who is accused of an offence and not those who are questioned as witness.
    • The court also says that Article 20(3) is not violated by asking to give fingerprints, handwriting etc.
  • Nandini Satpathy vs P.L. Dani (1978):
    • The court has given an expansive definition of a compelled testimony.
    • Clause 3 of Article 20 does not necessarily apply to pre-trial stages.
    • It also dealt with various technologies used on the witnesses/accused for the purpose such as the NARCO test.
    • The Gujarat High Court, the Bombay High Court and the Kerala High Court, all upheld the validity of these tests.
  • Selvi vs State of Karnataka:
    • The Supreme Court overturned the above decisions given by the various High Courts in the case of Selvi vs State of Karnataka (2010).
    • It held that such methods of interrogation are unconstitutional vis a vis Article 21.
    • The Supreme Court held that a narcoanalysis test without the consent of the accused would amount to violation of the right against self-incrimination.
    • This case also brought in the concept of mental privacy and informational self determination
  • Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab v State of Maharashtra(2012):
    • The Supreme Court in this case laid down that right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) does not exclude any voluntary statements made in exercise of free will and volition.
  • Balasaheb vs State of Maharashtra(2012):
    • The Supreme Court laid down that for invoking constitutional rights under Art 20(3), a formal accusation against the person claiming the protection must exist.

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Topic 7: Grievance Appellate Committee

Context: The government launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC), a faceless dispute resolution mechanism that makes digital platforms accountable to DigitalNagriks.  

Key details:

• What is GAC?
  • The GAC is a critical piece of overall policy and legal framework to ensure that the internet in India is open, safe and trusted, and accountable.
  • A GAC has a team of three members and three GACs have been set up by the government.
  • The GAC was one of the provisions in the recently amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

• The need for GAC was created due to large numbers of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet Intermediaries.
• The IT rules 2021 mention the creation of avenues apart from courts for user grievance redressal.
• These avenues are set up to ensure that the constitutional rights of Indians are not contravened by any Big-tech Platform.
• The GAC will be a virtual Digital platform that will operate only online and digitally

• Objectivesof GACs
  • The government seeks the safety and trust of every Digital Nagrik and for that, a robust grievance redressal system to ensure accountability of all Internet platforms offering a service or product was needed.
  • GACs have been established with the goal that all grievances must be 100% addressed.
• Concerns:
  • While this makes the in-house grievance redressal more accountable and appellate mechanism more accessible to users, appointments being made by the central government could lead to apprehensions of bias in content moderation.
  • The IT Rules, 2021 do not provide any explicit power to the GAC to enforce its orders.
  • If users can approach both the courts and the GAC parallelly, it could lead to conflicting decisions often undermining the impartiality and merit of one institution or the other.

Amendments to Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 The original IT Rules, 2021 obligated the Social Media Intermediaries (SMIs) to merely inform its users of the rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement along with the categories of content that users are prohibited from hosting, displaying, sharing etc. on the platform.This obligation on the SMIs has now been extended to ensuring that its users are in compliance with the relevant rules of the platform.Further, SMIs are required to make reasonable efforts to prevent prohibited content being hosted on its platform by the users.The other newly introduced obligation on SMIs is to respect all the rights accorded to the citizens under the Constitution, including in the articles 14, 19 and 21.SMIs are now obligated to remove information or a communication link in relation to the six prohibited categories of content as and when a complaint arises.They have to remove such information within 72 hours of the complaint being made.SMIs have been obligated to take all reasonable measures to ensure accessibility of its services to users along with reasonable expectation of due diligence, privacy and transparency.The obligation is meant to strengthen inclusion in the SMI ecosystem such as allowing for participation by persons with disabilities and diverse linguistic backgrounds.In this context, the amendments also mandate that rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement of the platform should be made available in all languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

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Topic 8: Ayushman Bharat Health Account

Context: Over 25 crore health records of individuals have been linked to their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account). 

What is ABHA?

• The ABHA (Health ID) is a unique health ID that will comprise a 14-digit health identification number using a person’s mobile number or aadhaar.
• It will allow the users, insurance companies and hospitals to access and share the health record digitally.
• Applying for a digital health ID is completely voluntary and does not involve any costs.
• Aim:
  • Better planning, implementation and budgeting of states and health programs.
  • It will also digitally connect the hospitals across the country with each other.
• Benefits:
  • An individual with a health ID card can check the doctors’ details along with their qualification.
  • The registered users will also be able to check the private and public healthcare facilities in the country
  • The card can also be used at AYUSH healthcare services, which include Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy
  • The sharing of health documents with any healthcare provider is consent-based.
    • The users can choose to give or remove consent whenever they want

Conclusion:

• The Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Account (Health ID) will create a seamless online platform that will also be secure and will protect the privacy and confidentiality of health-related personal information.
• The government aims to reduce the risk of preventable medical errors and significantly increase the quality of healthcare in India.

What is Ayushman Bharat Scheme?The scheme’s full official name is Ayushman Bharat — National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM).The scheme offers 10.74 crore of the poorest families from the Socio-Economic Caste Census a medical insurance plan worth Rs 5 lakh, renewable every year.There is no bar on the number of family members eligible, or their ages.Insurance will include secondary and tertiary-level healthcare, which means specialised consultations and surgeries.Ayushman Bharat combines the elements of healthcare schemes from around the world and tailors them to India’s needs.