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Swedish scientist Svante Pääbohas been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for the year 2022 “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”
Through his pioneering research, Svante Pääbo – this year’s #NobelPrize laureate in physiology or medicine – accomplished something seemingly impossible: sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal, an extinct relative of present-day humans, the academy said in its press release.
Through his groundbreaking research, Svante Pääbo established an entirely new scientific discipline, paleogenomics. Following the initial discoveries, his group has completed analyses of several additional genome sequences from extinct hominins.
Pääbo’s discoveries have established a unique resource, which is utilized extensively by the scientific community to better understand human evolution and migration.
New powerful methods for sequence analysis indicate that archaic hominins may also have mixed with Homo sapiens in Africa.
However, no genomes from extinct hominins in Africa have yet been sequenced due to accelerated degradation of archaic DNA in tropical climates.
Other examples are Neanderthal genes that affect our immune response to different types of infections,” the academy’s citation read.
Last year’s recipients were David Julius and ArdemPatapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.
The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on December 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
Govt. may lift AFSPA in 4 States after Naga peace pact (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Governance/Internal Security)
The uncertainty around the culmination of the Naga peace process is one of the reasons that led to the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) being retained in some parts of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months, according to government officials.
Effective April 1, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and State governments had considerably reduced “disturbed areas” in Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland.
The AFSPA was applicable in the whole of Nagaland and Assam till March 31. Under Section 3 of the Act, the State governments and the MHA have concurrent powers to notify areas under the AFSPA.
In Assam, the MHA was issuing the “disturbed area” order till 2017. Since then Assam has been renewing the notification every six months, the latest one issued on March 31.
On September 30, the MHA extended the AFSPA in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months.
The Act gives unbridled powers to the armed forces to kill anyone acting in contravention of law, arrest and search any premises without a warrant and protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Central government’s sanction.,
In Assam, the AFSPA has been retained in areas that are adjacent to the Nagaland border. In Nagaland, there is an ongoing peace process and once it has culminated, we will be able to further reduce the areas under the special Act,” G.P. Singh, Special Director General of Police, Assam.
The Centre is engaged in discussions with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) and seven Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) to find a solution to the Naga political issue.
The Isak-Muivah faction, the key player in the Naga peace talks, has been demanding a separate constitution and a separate flag for the Nagas and the creation of ‘Greater Nagaland’ or Nagalim by integrating Naga-dominated areas in neighbouring Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh to unite 1.2 million Nagas.
Another police official from Nagaland said the continuation of the AFSPA was required in border areas of the three States to curtail the movement of the underground groups.
When the AFSPA was first revoked from 60% of Assam on April 1, the State in 2020 and 2021 witnessed a surge in the number of surrendered weapons and the number of militants who were arrested.
Editorial
With the rupee under pressure, what next (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Even without getting into any quantitative measure of vulnerability, it is quite clear that the rupee is under pressure. In the last one year, it depreciated by over 10%, has crossed the psychological marker of ₹80 to a dollar, and India’s foreign exchange reserves are down by more than $100 billion.
The rupee is falling on account of two factors. The first is the widening current account deficit, mainly owing to the rise in the price of oil triggered by the Ukraine war. And the second is capital outflows, driven by a strengthening dollar on the back of aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Having been at the helm in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the taper tantrums of 2013, I have been asked in recent weeks whether India is heading into a similar crisis. I believe that is unlikely because there are big differences between the external situation then and now.
For one, there was pressure built up in the exchange rate then whereas the exchange rate today is tracking fundamentals more closely. Second, India’s macro situation then was fragile because of year-on-year high fiscal and current account deficits. Most importantly, India’s current war chest of reserves inspires confidence that India lacked at that time.
Arguably, the pressure on the rupee has softened, if only modestly, compared to six months ago, because the price of oil which was ruling above $100 to a barrel has since dropped to $88, India’s monthly trade deficit appears to have come off the peak, and capital flows are stabilising.
This is by no means to suggest that India is slowly heading into a comfort zone. On the contrary, the country remains vulnerable on many counts.
By far the most important vulnerability stems from the current account deficit (CAD) — a broader measure than the trade deficit because it takes into account invisibles such as, for example, travel and tourism — is expected to widen to beyond 3% of GDP this year, higher than 2.5% that the RBI considers to be the safe limit.
India can withstand a one-off overshoot of the CAD beyond the safety zone, but there can be no reassurance that it will soften soon given the Fed’s seeming commitment to continue hiking rates until inflation in the U.S. is tamed and there is the unlikely prospect of the Ukraine war ending anytime soon.
What accentuates India’s vulnerability is the fiscal deficit. For all the talk of fiscal consolidation, the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the States is still above 10% of GDP, possibly higher if the contingent liabilities, especially of the States, are also brought to the book.
It is worth remembering that India’s severe balance of payments crisis in 1991 and the near crisis in 2013 were both consequences of fiscal deficits spilling over into the external sector. The twin deficit problem is still very much with us.
A decisive shift in the discourse on abortion rights (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 1/2, Social Issues/Governance)
Recently, a single woman, residing in Delhi, approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to terminate her 22-week-old pregnancy. The reason for her wanting a Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) at this stage was a change in her personal circumstances — her partner did not want to support her and the pregnancy anymore and she did not want to continue this journey on her own because of her practical realities.
The Delhi High Court refused her permission by referring to the recently amended provisions of the MTP Act, which recognised the need for a request for an MTP by an unmarried woman on the grounds of contraceptive failure; however, this was only till 20 weeks of gestational limit. A change in circumstance was available, as per the law, only for a married woman up to 24 weeks.
The woman filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India, which in the first instance, granted her permission to terminate the pregnancy based on the report of the medical board concerned.
It also heard the case on the aspect of the constitutionality of the classification based on the marital status of a woman that the law, particularly the rules, has created.
The day of the judgment started with bits and pieces of information coming in about the Supreme Court judgment on access for termination of pregnancy services for women up to 24 weeks irrespective of their marital status.
What was not expected was a judgment keeping the pregnant person at the centre of it despite the law being provider-centric, and to read a judgment that beautifully encapsulates all the concerns that exist about the legal regime on abortion in India.
For this, one has to thank the top court of India for providing women a ray of hope.There are five key aspects of this judgment that need to be shared.
First, it acknowledges the context of criminality in which access to abortion in India is — the Indian Penal Code criminalises accessing and providing an abortion except where there is an immediate necessity to save the life of the pregnant woman, and that the MTP Act is an exception to this criminal offence.
This means that any termination of pregnancy that does not fall within the realm of the MTP Act is an offence under the IPC.
By doing this, the judgment contextualises the narrow space within which abortion is legalised in the country.
Second, the judgment holds unconstitutional the distinction that the law, through the rules, has made between a married pregnant woman and an unmarried pregnant woman.
The judgment basically holds that what is accessible and available for a married pregnant woman should be accessible and available to any pregnant woman, and that a classification based on marital status is fallacious and illegal.
Explainer
The Mediation Bill, 2021 (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Mediation Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 20, 2021, with the Parliamentary Standing Committee being tasked with a review of the Bill.
The committee’s report to the Rajya Sabha was submitted on July 13, 2022. In its report, the Committee recommends substantial changes to the Mediation Bill, aimed at institutionalising mediation and establishing the Mediation Council of India.
While there is no standalone legislation for mediation in India, there are several statutes containing mediation provisions, such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Companies Act, 2013, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India describes mediation as a tried and tested alternative for conflict resolution.
As India is a signatory to the Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation), it is appropriate to enact a law governing domestic and international mediation.
The Bill aims to promote, encourage, and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, to resolve disputes, commercial and otherwise.
The Bill further proposes mandatory mediation before litigation. At the same time, it safeguards the rights of litigants to approach competent adjudicatory forums/courts for urgent relief.
The mediation process will be confidential and immunity is provided against its disclosure in certain cases. The outcome of the mediation process in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement (MSA) will be legally enforceable and can be registered with the State/district/taluk legal authorities within 90 days to ensure authenticated records of the settlement. The Bill establishes the Mediation Council of India and also provides for community mediation.
According to the Bill, pre-litigation mediation is mandatory for both parties before filing any suit or proceeding in a court, whether or not there is a mediation agreement between them.
Parties who fail to attend pre-litigation mediation without a reasonable reason may incur a cost. However, as per Article 21 of the Constitution, access to justice is a constitutional right which cannot be fettered or restricted.
Mediation should just be voluntary and making it otherwise would amount to denial of justice. Additionally, according to Clause 26 of the Bill, court-annexed mediation, including pre-litigation mediation, will be conducted in accordance with the directions or rules framed by the Supreme Court or High Courts.
What are the changes in the UAE’s immigration rules? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security began the trial run of the Advanced Visa System on September 6.
It was first announced by the UAE Cabinet — led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai in April.
The changes in the UAE visa rules can be broadly classified into three categories — entry visa, green visa and golden visa.
For the first time, the UAE has introduced entry visas that do not require a host or sponsor for visitors. All entry visas will now be available for single or multiple entries and will be valid for 60 days unlike the previous 30-day period.
In 2020, golden visas were introduced, designed to enable exceptionally skilled foreigners to live, work and study in the UAE without the need for a national sponsor, according to Emirates News Agency.
A job exploration visa will be granted if the applicant is classified in the first, second or third skill level as per the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, or is a fresh graduate of the best 500 universities in the world, or has a minimum educational level of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
Another kind of job visa includes the entry permit visa which allows employers to sponsor visitors for temporary work assignments on projects. Universities can also sponsor visitors for attending training and study courses.
A business entry visa allows investors and entrepreneurs to explore business and investment opportunities in the UAE.
For tourists, besides a regular tourist visa, a five-year multi-entry tourist visa enables them to enter multiple times on self-sponsorship and remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, which can be extended for another 90 days. However, the applicant has to submit proof of having a bank balance of $4,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies for the last six months.
A family visa allows parents to sponsor their male children till the age of 25, up from 18, while an entry permit to visit relatives allows a visitor to enter the country if they are a relative or a friend of a UAE citizen/resident.
The new five-year green residence visa is aimed at attracting exceptional talent, skilled professionals, freelancers, investors, and entrepreneurs. It replaces the previous residence visa that was valid only for two years.
Besides, a grace period of up to six months to stay in the country has been introduced after the residence permit is cancelled or expired.
Few amendments have been made to the golden visa scheme allowing more categories of people to secure the coveted 10-year visa.
Scientists, skilled workers, exceptional talent, real estate investors, entrepreneurs, students, humanitarian pioneers, doctors and nurses have also been included in the list. Skilled professionals can get the long-term residency, if they have a minimum monthly salary requirement of AED 30,000 a month. Investors can also get the visa when purchasing a property worth at least AED two million.
News
Induction of indigenously built Light Combat Helicopter marks a new chapter: Air chief (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Induction of the indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) adds unique capability to the combat potential of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and marks a new chapter, said Air Chief Marshal (ACM) V. R. Chaudhari on Monday as the twin-engine helicopter was formally inducted into the 143 Helicopter Unit ‘Dhanush’ at the Jodhpur Air Force Station.
The induction of LCH underlines the fact that just as the country trusts the IAF, the IAF equally trusts the indigenous equipment,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who presided over the induction ceremony.
Stating that the LCH met the requirements of modern warfare and necessary quality parameters under varied conditions of operations, Mr. Singh said it fully met the requirements of both the Army and the Air Force.
The ceremony saw a ‘sarwadharam puja’ followed by a ceremonial water cannon salute to the helicopter. Mr. Singh also took a sortie in the LCH after the induction.
The LCH is at par or better than similar attack helicopters available globally. Selection of the Unit have been specifically selected based on professional competence to ensure quick operationalisation.
The twin-engine LCH, designed and developed by HAL, is a 5-8 tonne class dedicated combat helicopter. It was conceptualised after the 1999 Kargil conflict when the need for such a dedicated platform capable of operating in high altitudes was felt.
It is the only attack helicopter in the world which can land and take-off at an altitude of 5,000 m (16,400 ft) with considerable load of weapons and fuel significantly augmenting the firepower of the IAF and the Army in high altitude areas.
The helicopter has a combat radius of 500 km and go up to a service ceiling of 21,000 feet which makes it ideal to operate at high altitude areas of the Siachen glacier.
Speaking at the event, C.B. Ananthakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), said four LCH had been delivered to the IAF and four more would be delivered within this financial year.
More than 200 vendors were involved in production of sub-systems and components, apart from 70 vendors involved in indigenisation, he stated. The HAL had also initiated detailed production planning to gear up for exports.
The contract for 10 Limited Series Production (LSP) helicopters was signed between the IAF and the HAL on March 30, 2022, and the 143 Helicopter Unit ‘Dhanush’ which is operating the LCH was raised on June 1, 2022.
Yunqing Tang bags SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2022 for her contribution in maths (Page no. 10)
(Miscellaneous)
The SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for 2022 will be awarded to Yunqing Tang, Assistant Professor with the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
The award, instituted by the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) in 2005 with a cash prize of $10,000, is presented annually to individuals aged 32 and below, who made outstanding contributions in the field of mathematics, influenced by SrinivasaRamanjuan in a broad sense.
A release by KrishnaswamiAlladi, chair of SASTRA Ramanujan Prize Committee, said Ms. Yunqing’s works “display a remarkable combination of sophisticated techniques, in which the arithmetic and geometry of modular curves and of Shimura varieties play a central role, and her results and methods are bound to have major impact on future research in this area.”
Tang's most recent joint work with Frank Calegari and VesselinDimitrov on modular equations is of great significance and also has ties with Ramanujan's own work.” Praising Ms. Yunqing as one of the deepest and most creative mathematicians of her age, it said, “her wide ranging contributions are bound to have impact in the decades ahead.
Ms. Yunqing, born in China, completed her B. Sc in Peking University in 2011, following which she went to Harvard University for higher studies. She completed her PhD in 2016 at Harvard under the supervision of Mark Kisin.
After stints in Princeton University as a postdoctoral fellow, Instructor, and Assistant Professor, she joined UC Berkeley in July 2022 as Assistant Professor.
The prize will be awarded at the International Conference on Number Theory during December 20-22, 2022 at SASTRA University.
The prize committee included Don Blasius , University of California, Los Angeles; Dan Goldston, San Jose State University; Ken Ono, University of Virginia; Jonathan Pila, Oxford University; Zeev Rudnick, Tel Aviv University; and Cam Stewart, University of Waterloo.
69% houses under PMAY in rural India are owned by women, says govt (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Welfare Schemes)
Over 69% of houses constructed under the Prime Ministers’ special housing scheme are either wholly or jointly owned by women in rural areas.
According to the data shared by the government, as on September 29, 2022, a total of two crore houses had been constructed out of the 2.46 crore houses that were sanctioned.
Of this, 69% are owned partly or completely by women.
The Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Gramin) was launched by the Prime Minister in 2016 with the aim of constructing 2.95 crore houses.
A senior official in the Ministry of Women and Child Development said that it had been the government’s endeavour to ensure women get a fair share of government schemes under Nari Shakti initiative.The idea behind the initiative is to have “women-led” development instead of “development of women.
“By providing houses under the PMAY–G, the government has fulfilled the aspirations of women of owning a pucca house and strengthened their participation in the financial decision making of the household.
Living in a pucca house with basic amenities gives security, dignity and basic amenities economic power and uplifts their social inclusion,” he said.
According to the government, another initiative which has helped safeguard the health of women and children was ensuring supply of clean cooking fuel under the Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana.
Over 9.4 crore LPG connections have been released under the UjjwalaYojana. This scheme also received global recognition from International Energy Agency, which has described it as a major achievement in improving the environment and health of women, it said.
Another scheme that has helped women gain dignity and security is the Swachh Bharat Mission under which 11.5 crore toilets were constructed in the rural areas and 70 lakh were built in the urban areas.
Access to toilets and the safety, convenience and self-respect of women in rural India”, to claim that after the construction of toilets, 93% of women reported that they were no longer afraid of being hurt by someone or harmed by animals while defecating; 93% of women reported they are no longer afraid of contracting health infections; 92% of women said they were no longer afraid of going to the toilet in the dark of night.
MGNREGS to fund work to reverse desertification of land across the States (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Government Policies and Interventions)
With limited funds to deal with the gargantuan task of restoring degraded land and reversing desertification in the country, the government is now planning to bring convergence between the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana (PMKSY).
According to the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas published by the Environment Ministry in 2021, at least 30% of India’s total geographical area is under the category of “degraded land”.
Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Goa have more than 50% of land area undergoing desertification or degradation, while States with less than 10% land degradation are Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh.
In a recent jointly signed advisory, NagendraNath Sinha, Secretary, Rural Development, and Ajay Tirkey, Secretary, Department of Land Resources, urged the Chief Secretaries of the States to ensure that the two schemes work in tandem. Under the latter, activities such as ridge area treatment, drainage line treatment, soil and moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, nursery raising, afforestation, horticulture and pasture development are done.
The Union government now wants the States to undertake these activities using MGNREGS funds, which go towards both material and wage components.
In 2019, the government raised its target of restoration of degraded land from 21 million hectares to 26 million hectares by 2030 following a commitment made during the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14). Nearly three years on, the government is nowhere near this target.
Though the Ministry has been making efforts to contribute towards meeting the international commitment, the constraints posed on economy by the pandemic restricted the target to 4.95 million hectares by 2025-26.
Therefore, there is a compelling reason for the Ministry to explore alternative opportunities to fulfil the commitment, the advisory read.
The Rural Development Ministry is now hoping that by making use of the MGNREGS, which for the financial year 2022-23 has a budget of ₹73,000 crore, the government can scale up the area to be covered.