DAILY NEWS DIARY 25.06.2021

DAILY NEWS DIARY

Of

25.06.2021

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DAILY NEWS DIARY 25.06.2021

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 DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in sync with the UPSC pattern.  It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains.  Daily articles are provided in the form of Question and Answers  To have a bank of mains questions.  And interesting to read.

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THE HINDU - TH INDIAN EXPRESS - IE BUSINESS LINE - BL ECONOMIC TIMES - ET TIMES OF - TOI

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INDEX Essay Paper 1. Risk of COVID-19 infection and death………………………………………………………………………………………04

GS 3  Environment 1. Destruction of biodiversity……………………………………………………………………………………………………….05

 Economic Development 2. New energy modes and Reliance is planning to make for the near future contributing to the Indian Economy...... 06

Snippets: 1. Afghan Peace Policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………07

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ESSAY PAPER Editorial Q- Overcrowding in prisons has put several inmates at risk of COVID-19 infection and death. Analyse? INTRODUCTION = In the midst of the Covid surge, prisoners were largely forgotten. The failure of the authorities to reduce severe overcrowding in prisons left thousands of prisoners at risk of infection and death. . According to data, there are 12,715 inmates lodged in 11 sections of Tihar Jail alone as against the lodging capacity of 7,425. Out of them, 11,077 are undertrials.

1. This vitiates a fundamental right derived from Article 21 of the Constitution. Overcrowded jails are a violation of the human rights of prisoners (Re-Inhuman Conditions in 1382 v. State of Assam, 2018). 2. As the court said in Charles Sobraj v. The Suptd., Central Jail, Tihar, 1978, “imprisonment does not spell farewell to fundamental rights”. This translates into - That the aim of imprisonment is not merely deterrence of crime but also reformation. Apart from risking the lives of inmates, ignorance of the poor conditions of prisons has also added to the misery of the families of those in jail. Since physical meetings between the inmates and family members were suspended, many families have been unaware of the conditions of their loved ones in prison.

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While the reality is – Ever since the pandemic outbreak, human rights activists have demanded the immediate release of political prisoners on humanitarian grounds but this has fallen on deaf ears. . While the Supreme Court ordered that prisons adopt video conferencing technologies to overcome the lack of physical meetings, this has not been properly implemented, according to Amnesty International. . A report of the organisation noted that prisoners in and were allowed a phone call to their family only once in 15 days. . In May, prominent Hurriyat leader and chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, died in detention in Jammu. . Sehrai had been jailed under the Public Safety Act, a detention law that allows detention of any individual for up to two years without a trial or charge. He had tested positive for COVID-19 posthumously. His son said that Sehrai had complained of ill-health when the family had spoken to him 10 days earlier but there had been delay in his treatment till death became inevitable. Sehrai’s death has exposed the condition of prisons in Jammu and Kashmir. It has also exposed the condition of political prisoners who often languish in jail for years and are rarely convicted. . There are several Kashmiris kept in preventive detention in jails in , Delhi, and other parts of India. . A number of them are undertrials. Way Forward - According to Article 14 (3)(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an accused has the right to be tried without undue delay. The state is bound to provide legal assistance to prisoners, ensure their safe and timely release and safeguard their rights to a fair and speedy trial (Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, 1979). But this is not the reality for a large number of prisoners. 1. Taking cognisance of this issue, the Supreme Court directed the States to examine releasing inmates, convicted or facing trial on non-serious charges, from jails either on regular bail or on parole. 2. It also directed them to provide transport facility to the prisoners to reach home. It is hoped that States will comply. Some have said that they have begun reviewing prison occupancy. Given that States have started vaccinating prisoners too, the situation may improve soon. But India cannot ignore the problem of overcrowding, pandemic or no pandemic.

GS 3  Environment Q- construction of a road may be a necessity but should not result in the destruction of biodiversity. Substantiate with a recent example? BACKGROUND = The felling of several iconic pine trees for widening a road in Meghalaya capital Shillong has triggered outrage, as most of these coniferous trees, among the hill town’s USPs, were more than 100 years old. Case Study – The National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) took advantage of the COVID-19 lockdown to chop the pine trees locals were attached to. But the government swung into action on June 23 after photos and videos of the logs lying beside the road from the town’s Rilbong Bridge to Upper Shillong went viral.

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This stretch of the road is part of the 71 km Shillong-Dawki four-lane project estimated to cost ₹1,251 crore. Dawki is a trade point on the border with Bangladesh. . Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma asked the NHIDC to immediately stop felling the trees until the government finds a better solution. . His instruction coincided with an observation of the National Green Tribunal on a Goa bypass that construction of a road may be a necessity but should not result in the destruction of biodiversity. The State Vs Environmentalists - A Meghalaya Forest Department official said it had received orders to cut down 4,447 trees for the road widening project after it was cleared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also said the right of way for the project had been reduced from the standard 45-60 metres to 24 metres in order to minimise the damage. Forest officials said 10 trees would be planted in lieu of each tree felled. But locals said this would hardly make a difference as the site chosen for compensatory afforestation is in another district. Questions that persist - “We would like to know if the government followed Indian Forest Act, Biodiversity Act and Meghalaya Forest Regulation Act before the trees were hewn. Who gave the land for the project and who is funding for the destruction of the trees?”

 Economic Development Q- Discuss the new energy modes and other launches that Reliance is planning to make for the near future contributing to the Indian Economy? BACKGROUND = Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) announced plans to invest ₹75,000 crore in its ‘new energy’ business and set up four large manufacturing units in three years at Jamnagar, Gujarat. “The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar will be among the largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world.” The four factories would make and fully integrate all ‘critical components of the new energy ecosystem - 1. With an integrated solar photovoltaic module factory. 2. An advanced energy storage battery factory, 3. An electrolyser factory, 4. And for converting hydrogen into motive and stationary power, we will build a fuel cell factory

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“Reliance will thus create a fully integrated, end-to-end renewables energy ecosystem.” Affordable Smartphone - Mr. Ambani also announced that the Google and Jio teams had developed an ‘ultra-affordable’, fully featured 4G smartphone — Jiophone Next. The phone would support applications from both Google and Jio as well as from the Android PlayStore. Developed for the Indian market, the phone would be commercially available from September 10. RIL – Aramco Deal RIL also announced that Saudi Aramco’s chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan would join the board as an independent director, adding that the RIL-Aramco deal would be formalised in 2021. In 2019, RIL had said it would sell 20% in its oil-to-chemicals unit to Saudi Aramco for $15 billion. 5G Services - He added that RIL had tested Jio’s 5G solutions in India and had demonstrated “speeds well in excess of 1 Gbps... we are confident of being the first to launch full-fledged 5G services.”

Contributions to Indian Economy - 1. The firm’s subsidiary Reliance Retail would grow at least threefold in the next 3-5 years. 2. The unit, which aims to be among the top 10 global retailers, would create employment for more than 10 lakh people in three years.

GS 2 Snippets  International Relations Q- List the recent steps taken by India with towards Afghan Peace Policy? . India addressed a meeting of his counterparts of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and mentioned that it is in contact with “various stakeholders” in and around Afghanistan, confirming that South Block has adopted a broad-based approach to discuss the future of Afghanistan and the region

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. India has brought development to Afghanistan which was ravaged by violence inflicted by cross-border actors. “India has brought electricity, dams, schools, health clinics, roads and community projects to Afghanistan. . Mr. Doval argued for the “need to preserve gains made in the last two decades in Afghanistan and give top priority to the welfare of its people”. . And also proposed an action plan against -based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) as part of the anti-terror framework of the SCO and sought adoption of international standards to counter terror financing, including an MoU between the SCO and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). . India also called for monitoring of new technologies used by terrorists, such as drones, dark web, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and social media. For Prelims -

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The recently held “Save Democracy Day” by farmers held by farmers after seven months of their ongoing agitation against the Centre’s farm reform laws to mark which of the following? a. 73 years of Independence b. The pausing of farm laws c. 46 years of Emergency d. None of the above

Match the following pairs:

Select the correct answer using the code given below a. 1-IV, 2-I, 3-III, and 4-II b. 1-II, 2-III, 3-I, and 4-IV c. 1-I, 2-II, 3-III, and 4-IV d. 1-IV, 2-III, 3-I, and 4-II Answer: D Dustlik is a joint military exercise. between India and Uzbekistan. Ekuverin is a joint military exercise. between India and Maldives. Surya Kiran is a joint military exercise. between India and Nepal. Mitra Shakti is a joint military exercise. between India and Sri Lanka. Hence, option D is the correct answer.

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