Current Affairs – 18th Apr 2024

Articles Covered

  1. IREDA’s GIFT City office to boost Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Manufacturing Projects
  2. ‘Application of mind’ (by the DM) is crucial for preventive detention under the J&K Public Safety Act
  3. Tachyons
  4. How a massive anticyclone caused floods in Dubai and humid heat in Mumbai, on the other side of the Arabian Sea
  5. Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile successfully flight-tested by DRDO off the Odisha coast
  6. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)
  7. ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics’ for social media platforms: What EC told X on taking down elections-related posts
  8. Russian peacekeepers started withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh: Kremlin
  9. Mount Ruang volcano eruption: Indonesia’s Outermost Region on high alert, hundreds evacuated

IREDA’s GIFT City office to boost Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Manufacturing Projects

  • Energy Storage key to achieving targets under National Green Hydrogen Mission: IREDA CMD, at World Future Energy Summit 2024
  • Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has opened an office in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, which will specialize in providing debt options denominated in foreign currencies.
  • This will facilitate natural hedging and significantly reduce the financing costs for Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Manufacturing projects.
  • The strategic initiative which would contribute to the country’s journey towards a greener future was highlighted by Chairperson & Managing Director of IREDA Shri Pradip Kumar Das, during a panel discussion on “Future Growth Opportunities for Long Duration Energy Storage”, held at the World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi on April 17, 2024.

  1. The IREDA CMD emphasized the critical role that energy storage will play in achieving the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s ambitious target of over 5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) Hydrogen production by 2030.
  2. The CMD stressed the need to enhance research and development efforts to reduce cost and improve performance of energy storage solutions.
  3. Providing competitive and tailored financial solutions will encourage investment in energy storage projects, he added.
  4. India has taken active steps in this direction, which include the formulation of a storage requirement roadmap up to 2047, technology-agnostic storage tenders, and supportive government interventions for battery manufacturing and pumped storage hydropower projects.
  5. The Central Electricity Authority of India projects a storage requirement of nearly 400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030-32, with an estimated investment exceeding Rs. 3.5 lakh crores.
  6. IREDA has been at the forefront of renewable energy financing through the provision of innovative products for emerging technologies at competitive rates and is committed to support the deployment of energy storage technologies in India.

‘Application of mind’ (by the DM) is crucial for preventive detention under the J&K Public Safety Act

Despite the stringent provisions for preventive detention under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, Justice Rahul Bharti quashed an order against a certain Jaffar Ahmad Parray. Here is why.

  1. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, on March 22, ordered the release of Jaffar Ahmad Parray, who was detained in May 2023 under the state’s Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA).
  2. Parray was placed in preventive detention under orders of the Shopian District Magistrate (DM), after the police reached out to him and accused Parray of being an Over Ground Worker (OGW) for terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court ordered the release of Jaffar Ahmad Parray, who was detained under the state’s Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA).

J&K High Court Enforces Rule of Law, Quashes Detention Under Public Safety Act

  1. Preventive Detention of Parray: Parray was placed in preventive detention under orders of the District Magistrate (DM), after the police accused him of being an Over Ground Worker (OGW) for terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
  2. Declaration of Parray’s Preventive Detention as Unlawful: The High Court held that Parray’s preventive detention was unlawful and invalidated his detention order.

Preventive Detention

  • It means detention of a person without trial & Conviction by a Court on mere reasonable suspicion of him doing activity dangerous to public order.
  • Law Making Power: Both Parliament & State legislatures have authority to make law of Preventive Detention.

Parliament has exclusive control over National security, Defense & Foreign affairs while both Parliament & State legislature can make law for the maintenance of security of state & Public Order. 

Laws made by the Parliament for the Preventive Detention: 

  1. National Security Act (NSA), 1980
  2. Unlawful Activities (Prevention Amendment Act (UAPA), 2019

State specific laws like: Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) & Public Safety Acts (PSA) in some states.

Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA)

  • Section 8(1)(a): It allows the government to detain individuals to prevent them from “acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State or the maintenance of public order.

This allows the government to detain individuals who they believe could cause harm in the future, even though they may not have committed any crimes at the time of detention.

Section 8(2): Under this, the DM is empowered to pass an order to detain any person if they are satisfied that the person falls under the condition provided in Section 8(1)(a).

The Magistrate must then report the detention order to the government for approval, without which the order will lapse after twelve days. However, it is rare for such approval not to be granted.

  • Section 10-A: It states that detention orders cannot be deemed invalid “merely” because the grounds of detention are vague, non-existent, not relevant, not connected with the detained person, or “invalid for any other reasons whatsoever”.

Avenues Available to Persons Detained under the Public Safety Act

  • Section 13(1): It requires the DM to disclose the grounds for detention to the person detained within five days of issuing the order (although this may be extended to 10 days, in “exceptional circumstances”).

It also states that the person detained shall be given “the earliest opportunity” to make a representation against the detention order.

Section 13(2): It states that the DM is not required to disclose facts “which it considers to be against the public interest to disclose.”

Grounds for Quashing the Order by the Court

  • Detention Grounds of Police Dossier:  Copy of The HC observed that the grounds for detention outlined in Section 8(1)(a) of the act, as documented by the DM, were simply a direct copy of the police dossier.

However, this dossier lacked any indication of the petitioner’s involvement in a case registered under any FIR with a Police Station.

Significance of Representation in Preventive Detention Cases: Representation against a preventive detention submitted by a detenu is not meant to be a routine piece of paper for the District Magistrate”.

Demonstration of Application of Mind by DM: He emphasized the necessity for the DM to demonstrate “application of mind” when presented with such a representation.

  • In the present case, the petitioner did not receive assurance that his representation was even explored and was considered by the relevant authority.

Detention Without Criminal Past: He arrived at the conclusion that the police had picked him up and questioned him without filing a criminal case against him or documenting any previous criminal behavior.

Thus, considering the lack of application of mind by the DM and the actions of the police, the root of the petitioner’s preventive detention is illegal and coercive.

  • Surinder Singh v. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir: In this case, the HC quashed a detention order against an alleged “history-sheeter” (someone who has been implicated in multiple chargesheets in the past). 
  1. It noted that the detention order “is more or less copy-paste of the dossier” sent by the police to the DM.
  2. The police dossier failed to mention that the detained person had been acquitted or received bail in most of the past cases against him, it held that the detention order “shows the non-application of mind” of the police and the Magistrate, and quashed the order.

Vijay Kumar v State of J&K (1982):  The DM-issued an order of preventive detention against someone who was already in jail and made no note of that fact in the order.

  • The court held that there must be “compelling reasons” for a detention order, the lack of which “clearly exhibits non-application of mind and would result in invalidation of the order”.

Tachyons

Physicists recently proposed the radical idea that our universe is dominated by tachyons, a hypothetical kind of particle that always moves faster than light.

Protons – The proton is a subatomic particle with a positive electrical charge. They are found in every atomic nucleus of every element. In almost every element, protons are accompanied by neutrons. The only exception is the nucleus of the simplest element, hydrogen. Hydrogen contains only a single proton and no neutrons.

Tachyons

  1. Tachyons are hypothetical subatomic particles that move faster than the speed of light.
  2. The term “tachyon” was coined by physicist Gerald Feinberg in 1967.
  3. They are distinguished from “bradyons,” particles that travel at less than the speed of light.
  4. While bradyons are familiar and include protons, electrons, and neutrons, tachyons have never been observed.
  5. According to special relativity, particles with mass cannot reach or exceed the speed of light in a vacuum because their energy would become infinite.
  6. However, tachyons are thought to have imaginary mass, meaning their mass squared is a negative value. This implies that they could potentially travel faster than light without violating the laws of physics as we currently understand them.
  7. Tachyons would slow down if they gained energy, and accelerate if they lost energy.
  8. There have been a few experiments to find tachyons using a detector called a cerenkov detector.
  • This detector is able to measure the speed of a particle traveling through a medium.
  • Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. However, in other mediums, particles can potentially move faster than light.
  • If a particle travels through a medium at a speed that is greater than light for that medium, cerenkov radiation occurs.
  • This is analogous to the sonic boom produced when an airplane travels faster than the speed of sound in air or the shock wave at the bow of a ship.

How a massive anticyclone caused floods in Dubai and humid heat in Mumbai, on the other side of the Arabian Sea

Anticyclones don’t let other weather systems pass by and create conditions for extreme weather on their peripheries as well

Mumbai and Dubai experienced contrasting extreme weather occurrences triggered by an anticyclone.

  1. Mumbai and Dubai, cosmopolitan cities separated by 2,000 km of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, suffered from two different extreme weather events on April 16, 2024. While torrents of rain along with lightning lashed Dubai flooding large parts of the city, Mumbai sweltered under an intense humid heat wave.
  2. Both these events were precipitated by a single weather system, a massive anticyclone, along with some localised weather phenomena, and further fuelled by general warming and increased moisture levels in the atmosphere.
  3. The Konkan coast of India, especially the city of Mumbai, has been undergoing a humid heatwave for the past two days. On April 15, Santa Cruz weather station in the city recorded a maximum temperature of 37.9 degree Celsius (°C) and had a high relative humidity of 55 per cent at 5:30 pm, according to Rushikesh Agre, a Harvard University certified independent weather forecaster based in Pune.

Extreme Weather Events in Mumbai and Dubai

Heat Wave in Mumbai: The Konkan coast of India, especially the city of Mumbai, has been undergoing a humid heat wave characterized by intense humidity.

  • Santa Cruz weather station in the city recorded a maximum temperature of 37.9 degree Celsius (°C) and had a high relative humidity of 55 per cent.
  • Heat waves are particularly lethal when high temperatures combine with high humidity, which is commonly referred to as a wet bulb.
  • In such conditions, sweat from the human body isn’t able to evaporate, failing to stabilize the body temperature, which could ultimately cause heat stroke.

Floods in Dubai: Torrential rain accompanied by lightning inundated large areas of the city, causing flooding. 

  • Other Emirati cities like Sharjah and Abu Dhabi received excess rainfall with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) receiving its highest rainfall in 75 years, when records began.
  • Other countries in the region like Oman and parts of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain received excessive rainfall, with 18 people killed in Oman due to flash flooding.
  • Reason Behind Extreme Events: Both of these incidents were triggered by a vast anticyclone along with some localized weather phenomena, and further fuelled by general warming and increased moisture levels in the atmosphere.

Anticyclone

  • An anticyclone also known as a high-pressure area is an area of high atmospheric pressure where winds blow in a downward sinking motion and in the process, compress and heat up.  This causes dry and hot weather.
  1. Direction of Winds: The wind flows clockwise around it in the Northern Hemisphere, and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
  2. Impact: The net result of the anticyclone is a large-scale heat dome with air sinking, compressing and warming.

Pressure System

Pressure Condition at the centre

Pattern of Wind Direction

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Cyclone Low Anticlockwise Clockwise
anticyclone High Clockwise Anticlockwise

Heat dome: It occurs when an area of high-pressure stays over a region for days and weeks. It traps warm air for an extended period. 

  • The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day.
  • Heat domes, if they last for a long period, may cause deadly heat waves.

Characteristics of Anticyclones: 

  1. Season: Anticyclones can occur in both winter and summer with varying effects, but both are typified by low wind speeds due to a weak pressure gradient and stable conditions with no cloud.
  2. Expanse: Anticyclones can be very large, typically at least 3,000 km wide which is much larger than depressions.

Weather Condition Associated with Anticyclones

  1. Clear Skies: Anti-cyclones are associated with clear skies as the sinking air suppresses cloud formation.
  2. Calm Winds: The winds remain calm and gentle during an anticyclone, and there is almost no formation of clouds because here the air sinks rather than rises.
  3. Fog and Mist: Anticyclones can cause fog or mist to form, especially in low-lying or highly humid areas.
  4. Light Winds: Weak pressure gradients associated with anticyclones result in calm or light winds at the surface.
  5. From the high-pressure system’s center, the air tends to diverge outward, creating mild breezes or occasionally stagnant air.
  6. Blocking Weather pattern: They are generally related to large-scale and elongated heat waves but they also form a blocking pattern which doesn’t let other weather systems pass by and create conditions for extreme weather on their peripheries as well.

Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile successfully flight-tested by DRDO off the Odisha coast

  1. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight-test of Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on April 18, 2024.
  2. During the test, all subsystems performed as per expectation.
  3. The missile performance was monitored by several Range Sensors like Radar, Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Telemetry deployed by ITR at different locations to ensure complete coverage of the flight path.
  4. The flight of the missile was also monitored from the Su-30-Mk-I aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

  1. The missile followed the desired path using way point navigation and demonstrated very low altitude sea-skimming flight. This successful flight test has also established the reliable performance of the indigenous propulsion system developed by Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), Bengaluru.
  2. The missile is also equipped with advanced avionics and software to ensure better and reliable performance. The missile is developed by Bengaluru-based DRDO laboratory Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) along with contribution from other laboratories and Indian industries. The test was witnessed by many senior scientists from various DRDO laboratories along with the representatives from the production partner.

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)

The Supreme Court (SC) recently issued notice to two members of the NCDRC seeking explanation from them for issuing non-bailable warrants against the directors of a company, ignoring a previous interim order of the SC.

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)

  1. It is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
  2. Mandate: To provide inexpensive, speedy, and summary redressal of consumer disputes.
  3. Its head office is in New Delhi.
  4. The Commission is headed by a sitting or a retired Judge of the SC or a sitting or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court.
  5. NCDRC shall have jurisdiction to entertain a complaint valued more than two crore and also have appellate and revisional jurisdiction from the orders of State Commissions or the District fora as the case may be.
  6. The provisions of this act cover ‘goods’ as well as ‘services.
  • The goods are those which are manufactured or produced and sold to consumers through wholesalers and retailers.
  • The services are in the nature of transport, telephone, electricity, housing, banking, insurance, medical treatment, etc.

Eligibility to File a Claim: Any person who

  1. Has bought goods for consideration and finds any defect in the quality, quantity, potency, purity, or standard of the goods, or
  2. Has hired or availed any service for consideration and finds any fault, imperfection, shortcoming, or inadequacy in the quality, nature, and manner of performance in relation to the service.
  3. However, if a person has bought the goods for resale or for a commercial purpose, he is not a consumer.
  4. No complaint can be filed for alleged deficiency in any service that is rendered free of charge or under a contract of personal service.

Who Can File a Complaint: A complaint may be filed by the following:

  1. A consumer
  2. Any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act 1956
  3. The Central Government or any State Government
  4. One or more consumers where there are numerous consumers.

Appeal: Any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC, may prefer an appeal against such an order to SC within a period of 30 days.

‘Voluntary Code of Ethics’ for social media platforms: What EC told X on taking down elections-related posts

Acting on requests from the Election Commission of India, X has withheld four posts. Here is what EC told the social media platform.

The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) withheld four posts by the political parties on takedown requests by the EC

X has Removed posts for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

Violation of MCC: According to the EC, the posts in question violatedThe MCC and that X had a responsibility to remove these posts as it had agreed to the ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics for social media platforms.

  1. Rules cited by EC for Orders to Remove Posts: The EC cited provisions of the MCC against criticism of political parties and candidates based on unverified allegations, and criticism of their private lives.
  2. The EC also cited its March 1 advisory, in which it had warned political parties to follow the MCC and maintain decorum during the Lok Sabha campaign.

Model Code of Conduct (MCC):

  • It is a set of rules put in force by the EC to guarantee free and fair elections in the country.
  • The MCC is effective as soon as the poll dates are announced. 

Emergence of Voluntary Code of Ethics for Social Media Platforms

  • Amendments to RPA,1951: In January 2019, a committee led by Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha proposed amendments to RPA-1951
  • These amendments aimed to cover social media posts during the 48-hour period before polling, during which traditional campaigning is prohibited.
  • RPA 1951 governs the conduct of Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.

Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951: It contains provisions related to:

  • Methodology for the conduct of elections of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State.
  • The qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses.
  • The corrupt practices and other offenses at or in connection with such elections.
  • The decision on doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with elections.
  • Presentation of Code of Ethics to the EC:In March 2019, the Internet and Mobile Association of India, in collaboration with social media platforms, presented a code of ethics to the Election Commission.
  • This code, initially introduced after the loksabha elections was subsequently extended to all future elections.

Voluntary Code of Ethics

  1. About: Under this, the social media platforms will voluntarily undertake information, education and communication campaigns to spread awareness about elections, including about electoral laws.
  2. Provision for Grievance Redressal: The social media platforms created a high-priority dedicated grievance redressal channel for taking action on the cases reported by the EC.
  3. Timely Processing of Legal Orders by the EC: Valid legal orders of the EC would be acknowledged and/or processed within three hours for violations reported under Section 126 of the RPA, 1951, and other valid legal requests would be acted upon “expeditiously”.
  4. Section 126 refers to the curbs on campaigning in the 48 hours preceding polling.
  5. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, around 900 posts were taken down by the social media platforms upon the EC’s request.

Code of Ethics

  • Core Ethical Values: These are a set of guidelines containing core ethical values,principles and ideals of the organization.
  • Values as Guidelines for Decision-Making:These are referred to as values, which behave like the Constitution with general principles to guide behaviour, outlining a set of principles that affect decision-making.
  • It would include the principles of integrity, impartiality, commitment to public service, accountability, devotion to duty, exemplary behaviour etc.
  • Minimum Conduct Standards:It defines the minimum requirements for conduct and behavioural expectations instead of specific activities.
  • Distinguish Between Right and Wrong: Code of ethics helps members in understanding what is right or wrong and these codes are disclosed publicly.

Russian peacekeepers started withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh: Kremlin

An advisor to Azerbaijan’s President said the decision had been agreed between Baku and Moscow at the “highest levels”

  • Russian peacekeepers have begun withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan’s recapture of the disputed territory from Armenian separatists last year, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
  • Azerbaijani state media reported this week that Russian troops had begun leaving positions held as part of a Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire between Baku and Yerevan.

Recently, the Russian peacekeepers have begun withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Russian Peacekeepers Started withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh

Russian troops had begun leaving positions held as part of a Russia-brokered 2020 ceasefire between Baku (Capital of Azerbaijan) and Yerevan (Capital of Armenia).

  1. Russia had deployed a 2,000-strong peacekeeping force as part of a deal to end a bloody six-week offensive in 2020 that saw Azerbaijani forces seize regions of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas.
  2. Last September, Baku took over the territory in a lightning one-day offensive that triggered a refugee crisis. Almost the entire local population of around 100,000 ethnic Armenians left for Armenia, fearing reprisals and repression.

Nagorno-Karabakh

  • Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a mountainous region at the southern end of the Karabakh mountain range, within Azerbaijan.
  1. Recognition: The territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but was home to a majority Armenian population and controlled by pro-Yerevan separatists for nearly three decades.
  2. They have their own government which is close to Armenia but not officially recognised by Armenia or any other country.
  3. Significance: Several gas and oil pipelines across the Caucasus (the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) to Turkey and Europe are built by the energy-rich Azerbaijan.

Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)

It is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia formed in 2002.

  1. Members: Total 6
  2. Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
  3. Uzbekistan joined in 2006 and then withdrew again in 2012.
  4. Objective: To strengthen regional and international security and to maintain peace including cybersecurity and stability of the member states.
  5. Legal Framework: It enacted the legal framework for Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, allowed members to buy weapons at the Russian domestic rate, and pursued a common air defence system.
  6. Decision-making is greatly influenced by Russia.

The organization features a rotating chairmanship and an inter parliamentary assembly.

Mount Ruang volcano eruption: Indonesia’s Outermost Region on high alert, hundreds evacuated

Mount Ruang erupted several times in Indonesia’s outermost region forcing hundreds to evacuate.

  • The alert level for the volcano, which has a peak of 725 metres above sea level, was raised from three to four, the highest possible level in the four-tiered system.

Mount Ruang

  • Mount Ruang is a strato volcano located in the North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia prone to regular volcanic activity.
  • Strato volcanoes are conical and relatively steep-sided due to the formation of viscous, sticky lava that does not flow easily.
  • Strato volcanoes often produce explosive eruptions due to gas build-up in the magma.

Indonesia

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation which experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

  • Ring of Fire is an arc where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Pacific Ring of Fire/Circum-Pacific Belt

The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt is a string of hundreds of volcanoes and earthquake-sites which runs along the Pacific Ocean. 

  • It is a semicircle or horse shoe in shape and stretches nearly 40,250 kilometres.
  • Plate Convergence in the Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire traces the meeting points of numerous tectonic plates, including the Eurasian, North American, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Caribbean, Nazca, Antarctic, Indian, Australian, Philippine, and other smaller plates, which all encircle the large Pacific Plate.
  • It runs through 15 more countries including the USA, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Guatemala, Russia, Chile, Peru, and the Philippines.
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