22 May | UPSC Current Affairs: New Caledonia, Personality Rights, POCSO Act, Environment Issues & More

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UPSC GS Paper 1

New Caledonia

  • News: French security forces are ramping up efforts to restore order in New Caledonia in response to ongoing and deadly disturbances.
  • Geographical Location: 
      • Situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, around 1,500 km east of Australia.
      • Consists of various islands including Grande Terre, Loyalty Islands, Belep archipelago, Isle of Pines, and remote islands.
  • Indigenous Inhabitants: 
      • Inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous groups, notably the Melanesian Kanak people.

New-Caledonia

  • Political Status: 
      • Autonomy: Classified as a French overseas collectivity, with substantial autonomy according to the 1998 Nouméa Accord.
      • Governance: Governed under the Nouméa Accord and the Organic Law of March 1999, defining its constitutional framework and relationship with France.
      • Head of State: The President of the French Republic, represented locally by a High Commissioner.
  • Demographics: 
      • Capital: Nouméa, situated on Grande Terre.
      • Population: Approximately 270,000 inhabitants as of 2019, with around 39% being indigenous Kanak people. Other ethnic groups include European Caledonians, Polynesians, and various minority groups.
      • Citizenship: Residents hold French and European citizenship, with voting rights in territorial and French national elections.
  • International Status: 
      • Classified as one of the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), but not part of the EU, Eurozone, or Schengen area.
  • Role in the Pacific Community: 
      • Hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, established in 1947 to support economic and social stability in the South Pacific. 
      • Members include Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

UPSC GS Paper 2

Personality Rights

  • News: Delhi High Court issues order safeguarding Jackie Shroff’s personality rights, prohibits unauthorized use of his name, voice, and dialogues.
  • Definition: 
      • Personality rights pertain to the rights associated with the personality of a well-known individual, primarily applicable to celebrities whose names, images or voices are prone to misuse for profit. 
      • The concept dictates that only the owner or creator of these attributes has the right to derive monetary benefits from them.
  • Legality: Personality rights or their protection are not expressly mentioned in the Constitution of India but are traced to fall under the right to privacy and the right to property. 
      • Right to Privacy: This is the right to prevent one’s personality from being publicly represented without permission. It is primarily governed by the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Puttaswamy case (2017) under Article 21 of the Constitution.
      • Right to Publicity: This is the right to protect one’s image and likeness from being commercially exploited without consent. It is regulated by statutes such as the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Copyright Act, 1957.
Key Facts

  • A defamation suit can be filed under the Indian Penal Code for derogatory representation of a deceased person’s reputation or their family, safeguarding posthumous personality rights.
  • The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 protects the unauthorized use of certain dignitaries’ names and symbols as listed in its schedule.
  • Does the use of names on the internet affect personality rights?
      • In the 2011 Delhi High Court case of Arun Jaitley vs. Network Solutions Private Limited and Ors., Mr. Jaitley sought a permanent injunction against the misuse of his domain name and its immediate transfer. 
      • The Court observed that an individual’s popularity or fame on the internet is equivalent to their real-life status. 
      • The Court ruled in favor of Mr. Arun Jaitley, stating that his name, beyond being a personal identifier, had acquired its own distinctive character and thus warranted protection.

Scheme for Care and Support to Victims under Section 4 and 6 of POCSO Act

  • News: Seven people were held under Pocso Act for running prostitution with minor girls in Chennai.
  • POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012)
  • Launch Date: 30th November 2023
  • Funding: Centrally funded scheme from the NIRBHAYA fund of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, implemented through State governments.
  • Aim:
      • Provide integrated support and assistance to minor pregnant girl child victims under one roof.
      • Facilitate immediate, emergency, and non-emergency access to a range of services for long-term rehabilitation.
  • Eligibility:  Any girl below the age of 18 years, who is a victim of:
      • Penetrative Sexual Assault – Section 4 of the POCSO Act
      • Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault — Section 6 of the POCSO Act
      • Section 376, 376A-E of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)
      • And becomes pregnant due to such assault or rape.
  • Services Offered: 
      • Safe space to live
      • Health services, medical examination
      • Counselling and mental health services
      • Safe transportation, police protection
      • Education and vocational skills
      • Legal aid and assistance
      • Monetary and other entitlements
      • Care under Mission Vatsalya: Institutional and non-institutional care @ Rs. 4000/- per month per child for sponsorship/after care under Mission Vatsalya up to 23 years or until she gets employment, whichever is earlier.

Shamlat deh

  • News: Supreme Court (SC) allowed a review of its 2022 judgment on ‘shamlat deh’ land rights.
  • Definition: Shamlat deh is essentially village common land, created by multiple landowners contributing an equal portion of their individual land holdings to serve the “common purposes” of village’s people.
  • Management: Gram panchayats manage and control shamlat deh land as “lands reserved for the common purposes of a village”.
  • Article 31A was inserted by the First Amendment Act of 1951 in the Indian Constitution. 
  • It aimed to protect laws related to agrarian reforms and the acquisition of estates.
  • Traditional Uses: Grazing land for livestock, Source of firewood and other forest products, Village pathways and common areas, Location for community events.

Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)

  • News:  The 33rd session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was concluded recently.
  • Definition: The CCPCJ is a commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established in 1992.
  • Aim: It serves as the principal policymaking body of the United Nations (UN) in the fields of crime prevention and criminal justice.
  • Membership and Structure: The CCPCJ consists of 40 member states elected by ECOSOC, with seats distributed among regional groups.
      • The Commission is chaired by a Bureau.
  • Mandates and Priorities
      • International Action: Focused on combating national and transnational crimes such as organized crime, economic crime, and money-laundering.
      • Urban Crime Prevention: Addressing issues like juvenile crime and violence in urban areas.
      • Justice System Improvement: Aiming to enhance the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems.
  • Role in Knowledge Exchange: 
      • The CCPCJ provides Member States with a platform for exchanging knowledge.
      • This facilitates the development of national and international strategies to combat crime.

UPSC GS Paper 3

Lab Grown Diamonds

  • News: Surat’s lab-grown diamond industry is currently facing challenges with oversupply following a transition from natural diamonds.
  • Definition: Also known as synthetic diamonds or cultured diamonds, these are diamonds created in a laboratory environment rather than being formed naturally deep within the Earth’s crust.
  • Production Methods: 
      • High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT): A small diamond seed is placed in a press and subjected to high pressure and high temperature.
      • Carbon is dissolved in a molten metal catalyst, causing it to crystallize around the seed and grow into a larger diamond.
      • Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): A diamond seed is placed in a vacuum chamber, and carbon-containing gases (such as methane) are introduced.
      • The gases are ionized, and carbon atoms are deposited onto the diamond seed, layer by layer, forming a larger diamond.
  • Properties: 
      • Lab-grown diamonds possess the same physical and optical properties as natural diamonds.
      • They exhibit the same hardness, brilliance, and fire.
      • Can be cut and polished in the same manner as natural diamonds.
      • It is difficult to distinguish lab-grown diamonds from natural diamonds without specialized equipment.
  • Significance: 
      • Created in a controlled laboratory environment, lab-grown diamonds eliminate concerns regarding:
      • Mining practices
      • Human rights issues
      • Environmental impact associated with traditional diamond mining
  • Lab Grown Diamond Industry in India: 
      • India accounts for 15% of the global lab-grown diamonds production.
      • India produces about 3 million lab-grown diamonds each year.
      • India houses 90% of the world’s diamond cutting and polishing units, making it the largest exporter of diamonds.
      • Surat is a major contributor to India’s gems and jewellery exports of about Rs.3 lakh crore and employs close to 800,000 people in its diamond industry. 
      • Gujarat contributes to 80% of India’s diamond exports, with 90% of the state’s diamonds cut and polished in Surat. The city has over 5,000 diamond-cutting and polishing units.
  • Pig Butchering Scam
  • News: Pig Butchering Scams, a type of online financial fraud, are on the rise worldwide, including in India.
  • Definition: 
      • Pig Butchering Scams are deceitful schemes where victims are convinced to invest more money, often in cryptocurrency, into what appears to be a genuine opportunity. 
      • The name comes from the idea of fattening a pig before slaughter.
  • How It Works:
      • Scammers lure victims with promises of hefty returns.
      • Victims are encouraged to invest increasing amounts of money.
      • The scam appears legitimate, often involving fake investment platforms.
      • Once a significant amount of money is collected, the scammers disappear.
  • Impact:
      • These scams are widespread and lead to significant financial losses for victims globally.
      • They exploit the ambiguity and high-return potential of the crypto space.
  • Prevention Tips:
      • Investors should scrutinize projects and research the teams behind them.
      • Demand transparency from any investment opportunity.
      • Regulatory bodies need to strengthen oversight to protect investors.

Bees

  • News: The UN designated May 20 as World Bee Day.
  • Importance of Bees: Bees are pollinators, contributing directly to food security and conserving biodiversity.
  • Physical Characteristics of the Honey Bee: 
      • The honey bee has 3 pairs of legs, 4 wings, and 5 eyes.
  • Social Structure
      • Society: Bees live in colonies headed by a queen.
  • Types of Bees
      • Queen Bee: Heads the swarm and is the largest.
      • Worker Bee: Female bee with stings.
      • Drone Bee: Male bee with no stings.
  • Communication: 
      • Honey bees perform the ‘Waggle Dance’ to communicate between worker bees.
  • Propolis: 
      • Propolis is a resinous substance produced by honeybees, which helps prevent cracks, protect hives from invaders, and inhibit bacterial and fungi buildup.
  • World Bee Day: 
      • To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day.
      • 20 May coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.

Generalized System of Preference

  • News: Renewing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is seen as a way to open up broad trade talks between the U.S. and India, which could greatly improve their trade relationship.
  • Definition: It’s a voluntary trade measure by developed countries, offering preferential tariff treatment to imports from developing countries.
  • Launch: Generalized System of Preferences was instituted in 1971 under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
  • Preferential Tariff Treatment: 
      • Advantage: Provides either elimination or reduction in customs duty on eligible products from beneficiary developing countries.
      • Implementation: Applied when eligible products are exported from the beneficiary developing country to the developed country.
  • Rules of Origin Criteria: 
      • Exporters under GSP must meet rules of origin criteria.
      • Purpose: Ensures that exported products originate from the exporting country and are not diverted from another country.
  • GSP: A Unilateral Scheme
      • No need for the exporting country to provide reciprocal customs duty preferences for the developed country.
  • Additional Information: 
      • In terms of trade volumes, the GSPs granted by the EU and the US are the most comprehensive and hence the most important for developing countries.
      • EU GSP: Around 40% of India’s exports to the EU benefit from the EU GSP.
      • USA GSP: Prior to the USA’s withdrawal from GSP in 2020, approximately 10% of India’s total exports to the US were under the GSP.

Yellowstone National Park (YNP)

  • News: Scientists have made an incredible discovery in Yellowstone National Park: they found “giant” viruses that are about 1.5 billion years old.
  • Yellowstone National Park: 
      • Yellowstone is the oldest and one of the largest national parks in the US.
      • It was designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage site in 1978.
      • The park is famous for its abundant hydrothermal features, with hot springs being the most common.
  • Giant Viruses:
      • These viruses have exceptionally large genomes compared to typical viruses.
      • They offer valuable insights into the early emergence of single-cell organisms on Earth.
      • Importantly, they do not pose any risk to humans.

Project Astra

  • News: Google has showcased its most advanced multimodal AI, Project Astra, at its annual Google I/O developer conference.
  • Project Astra: Google’s AI Initiative: 
      • A Google initiative aimed at developing AI capable of understanding and responding to text, voice, and visual inputs, primarily for devices like smartphones and smart glasses.
  • User Interaction: 
      • Enables users to interact with their environment by capturing information through their device’s camera, akin to asking questions about what they see or hear.
  • Goals: 
      • Facilitate real-time information exchange and interaction through wearable technology.
  • Functionality:
      • Accessing Information: The Google AI Assistant within Project Astra retrieves and provides information from both the internet and real-world scenes captured by the device’s camera.
      • Learning and Adaptation: Designed to learn from interactions and the user’s environment, enhancing its effectiveness as a personal assistant.
  • Comparison with OpenAI’s GPT-4o
      • Modalities and Platforms: Project Astra employs a multimodal approach (text, voice, and visuals) and is versatile across various platforms, including smart glasses.
      • GPT-4o primarily focuses on voice interactions and is mainly used on smartphones.
      • Impact and Advancement: Project Astra is considered a significant step forward, potentially changing how users interact with AI across multiple devices.
        • GPT-4o marks progress in voice and text-based AI capabilities but primarily enhances smartphone applications.

Solid Waste Management in India: Concept, Harmful Effects, Challenges and Policy Interventions | UPSC

46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM 46)

  • News: India is hosting the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM 46), also known as the Antarctic Parliament, from May 20-30 in Kochi. 
  • Organiser: The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa, through the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), organised the meeting.
  • Members: The meeting which will be attended by the 56 member countries of the Antarctic Treaty.
  • Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM): The ATCM is an annual gathering of the Parties to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. 
      • It includes the original twelve signatories of the Antarctic Treaty and other nations conducting significant research in Antarctica.
  • Agenda at ATCM: 
      • Tourism Regulation: India will introduce a new working group focused on formulating regulations to monitor tourism and protect Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem.
      • Sustainability and Environmental Protection: The conference will address the sustainable management of Antarctic resources, biodiversity prospecting, and the impacts of climate change on the continent.
  • The Antarctic Treaty
  • Definition: The Antarctic Treaty is an international agreement governing activities in Antarctica. It was signed on December 1, 1959, and came into force on June 23, 1961.
  • Aim: The treaty designates Antarctica as a scientific preserve and ensures it remains exclusively for peaceful purposes.
  • Key Features:
      • Designated Antarctica as a “no man’s land”, free from international geopolitical competition.
      • Prohibits militarization or fortification of Antarctica.
      • Allows for peaceful scientific investigations and data sharing among signatories.
      • Bans nuclear testing or disposal of radioactive waste in Antarctica.
  • Original Signatories: 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty on December 1, 1959, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
      • The Treaty now includes 56 countries, with India joining in 1983. 
  • India’s Role in Antarctica: 
  • Consultative Party Status: India has been a consultative party to the Antarctic Treaty since 1983, allowing it to participate in decision-making processes.
  • Research Stations:
  • Dakshin Gangotri: India’s first Antarctica research station, operational from 1983 to 1990.
  • Maitri: India’s second station, operational since 1989, located in the Schirmacher Oasis.
  • Bharati: India’s third station, inaugurated in 2012 on the Prydz Bay coast, focusing on oceanographic and geologic study.
  • Future Plans: India plans to establish Maitri II to replace the aging Maitri station by 2029.
  • Legislation: In 2022, India enacted the Antarctic Act, reaffirming its commitment to the Antarctic Treaty and governing its activities in Antarctica.

Venezuela May Be First Nation To Lose All Its Glaciers

  • News: Venezuela may be the first nation in modern history to lose all its glaciers after climate scientists downgraded its last one to an ice field.
  • Glaciers: An Overview
  • Definition: Glaciers are large, thick masses of ice formed from accumulated snow over centuries.
      • Typically found in areas where mean annual temperatures are near freezing.
      • They develop from significant snow accumulations that do not fully melt and flow slowly like rivers due to gravity.
      • According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the common size threshold to be classified as a glacier is about 10 hectares.
  • Reasons Behind Disappearance of Glaciers
      • Global Warming: The primary cause of glacier melt is global warming, which increases temperatures and leads to ice melting.
      • Human Impact: Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, have increased greenhouse gas emissions.
      • These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global temperature rises.
  • Recent Trends:
      • Notable temperature increases in regions like the Andes have been documented, with rates up to 0.10 degrees Celsius per decade over the last seventy years.
      • Events like El Niño exacerbate warming, leading to more rapid glacier melting.
  • Impacts of Glacier Loss
      • Water Resources: Glaciers are vital sources of freshwater, especially during dry periods.
      • Their loss means increased dependence on unpredictable rainfall for water.
      • Ecological Impact: Melting glaciers affect downstream water temperatures, crucial for aquatic species that require colder water to survive.
      • Sea Level Rise: Melting glaciers contribute substantially to global sea level rise.
      • Cultural and Economic Effects: In places like Venezuela, glaciers form part of the cultural identity and are important for tourism and mountaineering.
        • Losing them can have significant cultural and economic impacts.

Terms in News

 Shrinkflation:

  • When company reduces quantity or volume of product without changing the price. e.g. If a ₹10 Chocolate previously gave 155gm, now giving only 135gm.
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