Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2022


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

Supreme Court tears into practice of ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’

  • On hearing a criminal appeal against the Bihar Government, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana admonished a counsel for submitting a ‘sealed cover report’ to the court. The CJI told the counsel to not submit the report in a sealed cover.

About:

  • Sealed cover jurisprudence is a practice used by the Supreme Court and sometimes lower courts, of asking for or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges. 
  • While a specific law does not define the doctrine of sealed cover, the Supreme Court derives its power to use it from Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. 
  • It is stated under the said rule that if the Chief Justice or court directs certain information to be kept under sealed cover or considers it of confidential nature, no party would be allowed access to the contents of such information, except if the Chief Justice himself orders that the opposite party be allowed to access it. 
  • It also mentions that information can be kept confidential if its publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public.
  • Review:
  • Critics of this practice argue that it is not in support of Indian principles of transparency and accountability judicial system, as it opposes the idea of an open court, in which decisions can be subject to public scrutiny. 
  • It is also said to enlarge the scope for arbitrariness in court decisions, as judges are supposed to lay down reasoning for their decisions, but this cannot be done when they are based upon information submitted confidentially.

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Assam forms Cabinet subcommittee to look into cases of non-inclusion in NRC

  • Assam’s Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma himself recently raised the issue in the state Cabinet meeting and a sub-committee has been formed.

About:

  • The cabinet subcommittee has been formed to look into the problem of 19 lakh people, whose names were not included in the supplementary list National Register of Citizens (NRC), published in August, 2019.
  • The biometric details of these people are locked and could not get Aadhaar cards thereby they are not able to get welfare scheme benefits.
  • The Minister said that the state government has written at least twice to the Union Home Minister in 2020 and 2021, requesting the Center to allow the authority to access the biometric details of at least those people whose names had figured in the final draft of the NRC.
  • The Minister told the house that 85.55 per cent of people in Assam have registered for Aadhaar enrolment till February this year. 
  • Assam assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary said the matter once again can be brought to the notice of the central government.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India and Russia explore payment options for crude

  • India and Russia are said to be considering the use of the Chinese yuan as the reference currency to facilitate oil trade between the two countries. 
  • This news comes in the backdrop of economic sanctions imposed by the West against Russia after the Russian military invaded Ukraine late last month.

Why is Russia trying to sell oil to India?

  • Russia has been trying to sell oil at a significant discount to India as demand for Russian oil has dropped since the U.S. and Europe imposed sanctions last month. 
  • As part of Western sanctions, certain Russian banks were removed from the SWIFT payments system, thus affecting Russia’s ability to trade with the rest of the world. 

Why use the Chinese yuan instead of the U.S. dollar for oil trade?

  • Major oil producers have for decades sold their produce to foreign buyers in exchange for U.S. dollars. Oil sellers have been willing to accept U.S. dollars for their oil because the currency is widely accepted in the global market for goods and services. 
  • Since global trade that is carried out using dollars is cleared by banks located in the United States, the U.S. government has the power to freeze dollars that belong to its adversaries which then debilitates economies.
  • To avoid this risk, many countries have been looking at alternatives to the U.S. dollar to carry out international trade. 
  • Of late, China has emerged as a significant economic power and this in turn has boosted the value of the yuan in the eyes of people and made it an increasingly acceptable currency for global trade. 
  • However, it should be noted that only about 3% of global trade is facilitated by the Chinese yuan while almost 90% of global trade still happens through the use of U.S. dollars.

North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation membership

  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Ukraine will not become a NATO member.

Procedure for membership is as following:

  • Following formation of Consensus amongst NATO members, applicant country joins Membership Action Plan which is a preparatory stage.
  • NATO then moves an amendment to make the invitees party to the Washington Treaty (alsocalled NATOTreaty).
  • Finally, the new member accedes to the NATO treaty.
  • Membership eligibility criteria includes, functioning democratic political system, marketeconomy; fair treatment of minority populations etc.

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:ECONOMY::

Seaweed sector

  • Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is focusing on progressive growth of the seaweed sector.

About:

  • Sea-weed culture is also being promoted under Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana for empowerment of fishermen.
  • Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is focusing on progressive growth of the seaweed sector.
  • Seaweed is different from seagrass, as seaweed is a non-vascular, plant-like macroalga which lacks true stem, roots and leaves.
  • Seaweeds are considered as superfoods because of their high concentration of vitamins and minerals.
  • Seagrass is a vascular plant which has true stem, roots and leaves.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Phosphorus bomb

  • Russian forces are accused of launching phosphorus bomb attacks in Lugansk and Donetsk regionsof eastern Ukraine.

About:

  • It is used in smoke, lightsand during war to make the bomb more lethal.
  • It is pyrophoric (it is ignited by contact with air), burns fiercely and can cause horrendous injuries.
  • International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilianareas, but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops.

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