Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 September 2022

::NATIONAL::

While hearing a petition seeking directions to High Courts to adopt a “Uniform Judicial Code”, the Supreme Court, commented on long pleadings filed before courts and wondered whether there could be an agreement on a “page limit for SLPs” (special leave petitions).

What are the rules for pleadings currently?

There are currently no laid-down limits on the length of pleadings, but there are specifications regarding the paper, its size, and the typing, etc.
Under Order VIII (Documents) of The Supreme Court Rules, 2013, “the officers of the Court shall not receive any pleading, petition, affidavit or other document, except original exhibits and certified copies of public documents, unless it is fairly and legibly written, type-written or lithographed in double-line spacing, on one side of standard petition paper, demy-foolscap size, or of the size of 29.7 cm x 21 cm, or paper which is ordinarily used in the High Courts for the purpose”.
These have to be certified by the Advocate-On-Record, who is registered to practise before the SC. Other lawyers, including a senior advocate, can appear before the court only on the instructions from the AoR.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2 unveiled the Indian Navy’s new Ensign (Flag) at the commissioning of INS Vikrant in Kochi.

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The new Naval Ensign bears the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, whose navy gave his enemies sleepless nights.
The new Ensign has the national flag on the upper canton (top left corner), and a blue octagon encompassing the National Emblem sitting atop an anchor. The anchor, depicting steadfastness, has been superimposed on a shield inscribed with the Navy’s motto, Sam No Varunah, in Devanagari.

India and UAE have reiterated their commitment to achieving the goal of 100 billion US dollars of bilateral trade in the next five years.

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Both countries have also noted the possibility of linking instant payment platforms, such as through the United Payment Interface of India.
Two MoUs were signed between both sides in the presence of the Ministers.
One MoU was signed between the Wildlife Institute of India and the International Fund for Houbara Conservation for the Conservation of the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican.
Another MoU was signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on the establishment of the India-UAE Cultural Council Forum.

An Indian Army contingent comprising troops from 7/8 Gorkha Rifles is participating in the multilateral strategic and command exercise ‘Vostok-2022’ which commenced at the training grounds of the eastern military district in Russia. The exercise also includes participation by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

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The exercise is scheduled to be held from September 01 to 07. The war games also come as the war in Ukraine enters the seventh month.
The Indian Army contingent over the next seven days will undertake joint manoeuvres to include joint field training exercises, combat discussions, and firepower exercises.
The Indian Army contingent will look forward to sharing practical aspects and putting into practice the validated drills, procedures and practice amalgamation of new technology through discussions and tactical exercises, it added.
Russia has stated that Vostok-2022 will be conducted in two phases.

India has become the world’s fifth-largest economy after it overtook the United Kingdom in end-March 2022, according to the latest calculations by Bloomberg.

Key take aways

India leaped past the UK in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy.
The calculation is based in US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund.
The Indian economy is forecast to grow more than 7% this year. A world-beating rebound in Indian stocks this quarter has just seen their weighting rise to the second spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, trailing only China’s.
On an adjusted basis and using the dollar exchange rate on the last day of the relevant quarter, the size of the Indian economy in “nominal” cash terms in the quarter through March was $854.7 billion. On the same basis, UK was $816 billion.
UK GDP grew just 1% in cash terms in the second quarter and, after adjusting for inflation, shrank 0.1%. Sterling has also underperformed the dollar relative to the rupee, with the pound falling 8% against the Indian currency this year.

Comparing India and UK

Population size is one of the most fundamental differences between the two countries. As of 2022, India has a population of 1.41 billion while the UK’s population is 68.5 million. In other words, India’s population is 20 times that of the UK’s.
There is such a stark difference between the population of the two countries, GDP per capita provides a more realistic comparison of income levels because it divides a country’s GDP by the population of that country. It is not surprising to note that the income of an average Indian is far lower.
Low per capita incomes often point to high levels of poverty. It is noteworthy that at the start of the 19th century, the UK’s share in extreme poverty was considerably higher than India’s. However, as things stand today, the relative positions have reversed even though India has made giant strides in curbing poverty.

According to the data released by the Union Agriculture Ministry, the decrease in the area of paddy cultivation is 22.90 lakh hectares, 5.62% less that the area covered in 2021.
Farmers’ organisations have been maintaining that the higher input cost, particularly the increase in prices of fertilisers, is the main reason for the decrease in paddy cultivation apart from scarcity of water.
Cultivation of pulses
The coverage of pulses too witnessed a marginal decrease. In this kharif, the cultivation so far is in 129.55 lakh hectares compared to 135.46 lakh hectares in 2021.
Increase in area in cultivation is reported from States such as Madhya Pradesh (4.08 lakh hectares), Uttar Pradesh (0.22 lakh hectares) and Assam (0.11 lakh hectares) while Maharashtra (decrease of 3.23 lakh hectares), Telangana (1.70 lakh hectares), Jharkhand (1.33 lakh hectares) and Karnataka (0.94 lakh hectares).