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The field trials of the GM mustard hybrid DMH-11, which has been granted approval for ‘environmental release’ by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recently, will begin from the ongoing rabi season.
The official said that the trials, known as performance evaluation trials, will be conducted under the supervision of ICAR Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research (DRMR), Bharatpur, Rajasthan, as per the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) rules and guidelines. The ICAR-DRMR is responsible for the All India Coordinated Research Projects on Rapeseed-Mustard in the country.
One is the initial varietal trial or the initial hybrid trial. If some entries are giving higher yield over the checks then only these entries are promoted to the next stage of testing i.e., AHT (Advance Hybrid Trial-1).”
As far as DMH-11 is concerned, we are going to test it as IHT (initial hybrid trial). We are going to have a small trial and put all those checks.
As per the ICAR rules and regulations, only those entries which are showing 10 per cent higher yield over the check variety and 5 per cent over the check hybrid will be promoted.
Normal hybrid tests [for mustard] take place at 16 places across the country. We will try to put [the DMH-11] at 6-7 locations, sowing will begin in the next 4-5 days.
Recently the GEAC, which comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, had recommended the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 and parental lines “bn 3.6 and modbs 2.99” containing barnase, barstar and bar genes.
‘Two-finger test’ on rape victims an act of misconduct (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The ‘two-finger test’ on alleged rape victims is regressive, has no scientific basis, and is an affront to the dignity of women, the Supreme Court said, as it declared that those found indulging in the practice will be guilty of misconduct.
A Bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and HimaKohli made the comments in its order restoring the conviction and sentencing of a man for the rape and murder of a minor girl in Jharkhand in November 2004.
The girl had been set on fire by the man after she tried to thwart his attempt to sexually assault her. Later, in hospital, a medical board formed to examine her, had subjected her to the ‘two-finger test’.
The so-called two-finger test or per vaginum examination is conducted on alleged victims of sexual assault and rape to determine whether they are habituated to sexual intercourse.
Calling it “regrettable” that the parctice continues despite the top court’s disapproval and the government proscribing it, the Bench said the two-finger test has no scientific basis and neither proves nor disproves allegations of rape.
It instead re-victimises and re-traumatises women who may have been sexually assaulted, and is an affront to their dignity.
Whether a woman is ‘habituated to sexual intercourse’ or ‘habitual to sexual intercourse’ is irrelevant for the purposes of determining whether the ingredients of Section 375 (rape) of the IPC are present in a particular case.
The so-called test is based on the incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing could be further from the truth – a woman’s sexual history is wholly immaterial while adjudicating whether the accused raped her.
The Court pointed out that the “legislature explicitly recognised this fact when it enacted the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, which inter alia amended the Evidence Act to insert Section 53A” that the “evidence of a victim’s character or of her previous sexual experience with any person shall not be relevant to the issue of consent or the quality of consent, in prosecutions of sexual offences.
The “probative value” of a woman’s testimony does not depend upon her sexual history, the Bench said, adding: “It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she states that she was raped, merely for the reason that she is sexually active.”
The judgment said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had also issued guidelines proscribing the application of the ‘two-finger test’ on alleged rape victims by health practitoners .
CEC wants social wants media platforms to proactively flag fake news (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Internal Security)
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Monday said election management bodies (EMBs) expected social media sites to use their “algorithm power” to proactively flag fake news.
He was addressing an international conference for EMBs hosted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) under the aegis of the United States’ ‘Summit for Democracy’ platform.
He said social media platforms proclaim to have content policies, but added that they do also have the “algorithm power” and a proactive approach to countering fake news would facilitate “credible electoral outcomes”.
More early or deeper red-flagging of fake news based on known modus operandi and genres is not an unfair expectation from the EMBs.
Speaking of India’s experience of holding elections during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CEC said disenfranchisement, even if temporary, was not an option for democracies.
He said the group of EMBs present, including senior representatives from EMBs of Mauritius and Greece, could develop benchmarks and start a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities before them.
United States Charge d’Affaires Elizabeth Jones, who attended the inaugural along with Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, said the US-India partnership was most consequential, according to an EC statement.
India’s Election Commission is a testament to a well-run election management body overseeing electoral processes. The United States is gratified by your leadership and sharing your expertise with other democracies. Administration of Indian elections has set standards for democracies worldwide.
Editorial Page
For science and the farmer (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
The recent clearance by the government for the release of GM Mustard Hybrid DMH 11 — based on the recommendations of GEAC under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change — is a bold decision in the best interest of our farmers and the nation.
The decision to remove the unscientific ban on GM crops reflects the determination of the government to move towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. It also meets the aspirations of our scientific community and farmers can derive the benefits of innovative technology.
The fear and reservations expressed in some quarters are scientifically unfounded. In fact, such objections are not new. They were also expressed when we imported the dwarf miracle seeds of wheat and rice to achieve food self-sufficiency through the Green Revolution.
I came up against the same concerns as the head of ICAR when Bt Cotton was being released. Science-led revolutions have given India self-respect and global recognition.
We are today a major exporter of agricultural produce, including cereals and cotton, fetching more than $50 billion annually. All this is possible due to the right policy decisions by the government, the establishment of the best institutions, the building of capable human resources, taking along progressive farmers, and strengthening global partnerships.
To meet our current challenges — over-exploitation of natural resources (soil, water, biodiversity), declining factor productivity, urgency to achieve sustainable development goals, especially ending poverty and hunger, and addressing timely the adverse effects of climate change — the best option is scientific innovations and their scaling.
The adoption of GM food crops is in our broader national interest. Genetically modified maize, soybean, cotton, tomato and canola are grown across the world and the area currently under GM crops is about 200 m ha.
Besides India, these have been grown for many years in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China.
To meet the existing deficit in edible oils (about 55-60 per cent), India is currently importing around 13 million tonnes at a cost of Rs 1.17 lakh crore to the exchequer.
Interestingly, of this, 2.0-2.5 mt soybean oil and 1.0-1.5 mt canola oil is already GM. Hence, we are consuming GM oil already, besides, the 1.5 mt of GM cotton oil produced domestically.
Moreover, it is scientifically proven that the consumption of refined oil does not allow any protein to enter the human system. Thus, the consumption of GM oil is completely safe from a health point of view.
Idea Page
The new diplomacy(Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
International approbation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s independent foreign policy is coming thick and fast. Despite the presumed Indian love for external validation, the new compliments from abroad are unlikely to swell the chests in South Block.
India’s mandarins know that foreign leaders are not in the business of giving free praise. Most of the time, compliments say more about the state offering them rather than the one receiving it.
Last week, Imran Khan was at it again, commending India’s foreign policy as he launched the promised “long march” from Lahore to Islamabad.
Khan pointed to Delhi’s continuing purchase of oil from global markets while Islamabad is unable to do so. Recall that Imran Khan had pushed for oil and grain purchases from Russia before he was ousted from power in April just weeks after Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
Beyond oil purchases, praising India is less about foreign policy than attacking what he calls the “imported government” of Pakistan. Khan had accused the Joe Biden Administration of a “conspiracy” to dethrone him because of his effort to pursue an independent foreign policy.
Imran’s attack on the US conspiracy is directed at the army chief, General QamarJavedBajwa, who withdrew his patronage to Khan and facilitated the election of Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League as the new prime minister.
Notwithstanding his seemingly revolutionary rhetoric, Imran Khan is not an ideological opponent of the US. After returning from a meeting with President Donald Trump in 2019, Khan was rather chuffed with himself. On his return to Islamabad, Khan had declared that he felt like he had “won the (cricket) world cup again”.
Last week also saw the UAE’s minister for artificial intelligence, Omar Sultan Al Olama, praise External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s stewardship of Indian diplomacy for deftly navigating the recent geopolitical headwinds.
That the UAE is now talking about “not choosing sides” is certainly interesting. The Gulf kingdoms like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have long relied on the United States for their security. But the recent US moves to revive the nuclear deal with Iran have generated much unease among the Gulf Arabs.
Who owns a woman’slabour? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
The only thing you know when you are going to get married is that your life is now going to change.In some cases, you might imagine that you will now be free. You can sit behind a man, riding pillion on a bike and rev around the city with more freedom than you had as an unmarried girl.
You can go out for ice cream — at night! — with your newly-minted husband without being scolded, surveilled or suspected of betraying family honour.
But you also know that awaiting you on the other side is a lifetime of drudgery and housework. Because that is the unspoken job description of a “married woman”.
In a 2018 study in West Bengal by scholars Samita Sen, Anindita Ghosh and their team at Jadavpur University, women who were interviewed in the South 24 Parganas area had only one criterion for who they wanted as brides for their sons: “Someone who can work”. One heard of girls who were sent back to natal homes for not being strong enough for the grind of household work and farm labour.
Poor families and rural economies survive on women’s labour inside and outside the home. The study found that early marriages of adolescent girls were actually a response to the demand for female labour at home and in the fields. It validated a long-standing feminist claim: That marriage is the “mode of recruitment” for women’s domestic labour.
Women and girls are socialised to work in their natal homes too, but this study and several others have found that the burden of work rises disproportionately in marital homes.
In Rajasthan, for instance, a 2019 study by community-based organisation Vikalp and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences found that amongst girls married before the age of 18 years, more chores and harder tasks were added to their list of duties in the marital home.
What was striking was that the marital family felt entitled to the labour of the girl as soon as the engagement took place, immediately staking claims over her labouring capacity.
In a poignant passage, the researchers write: “The young brides told the interviewers that they could not stop working even when they were unwell and that they received little help from family members in the marital home.” There are no sick leaves in this job.
Explained Page
Suspension bridges:how they work (Page no. 14)
(Miscellaneous)
The bridge that collapsed in Gujarat’s Morbi on Sunday killing at least 134 people, was a suspension bridge — a type in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders.
The basic structural components of a suspension bridge system include stiffening girders, two or more main suspension cables, and towers and anchorages for cables at either end of the bridge.
The main cables are suspended between the towers and are connected to the anchorage or the bridge itself. The vertical suspenders carry the weight of the deck and the commuter load on it.
The design ensures that the load on the suspension cables is transferred to the towers at the two ends, which transfer them further by vertical compression to the ground by way of the anchorage cables.
All of this balancing has to happen within the permissible weight restrictions for the bridge, given that the deck is hanging in air, supported by the two sets of cables.
Given that the most important load bearing members are the main suspension cables, the entire cross-section of the main cable is the mainstay of carrying the load and ensuring that buckling does not happen.
Even as an investigation into the accident is pending, the visuals and purported footage prior to the incident seem to suggest that both these preconditions were possibility tested.
The 19th century bridge, which had been reopened days previously after repairs spanning six months, reportedly had over 400 people on it when it collapsed.
And while the weight limit is not known, purported video footage from before the incident seems to suggest the bridge was swaying, possibly because of the large crowd on it.
Sudib Kumar Mishra, associate professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT-Kanpur who specialises in structural engineering, said the way the bridge snapped was somewhat unusual.
Full information is not available, but based on the videos that are circulating, I was a bit surprised at the manner in which the entire bridge collapsed in a single instant.
What is usually expected in incidents like these is that one or two suspension cables give way, and the bridge breaks and hangs before the rest of the structure collapses. It is a slower process.
Economy
RBI to kickstart e-rupee pilot in G-Secs today(Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced that the first pilot in the Digital Rupee, or e-rupee, in the wholesale segment (e?-W) will commence in government securities from November 1, 2022.
Nine banks — State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC — have been identified for participation in the pilot.
According to the RBI, the use case for this pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. “Use of e?-W is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient.
Settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk,” the RBI said.
Going forward, other wholesale transactions, and cross-border payments will be the focus of future pilots, based on the learnings from this pilot.
The first pilot in Digital Rupee – Retail segment (e?-R) is planned for launch within a month in select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants.
The details regarding operationalisation of e?-R pilot will be communicated in due course, it said. On October 7, 2022, the RBI had announced that it will soon commence pilot launches of Digital Rupee (e?) for specific use cases.
The central bank says e-rupee, or CBDC, can be structured as token-based or account-based. A token-based CBDC would be a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them. In a token-based CBDC, the person receiving a token will verify that his ownership of the token is genuine. A token-based CBDC is viewed as a preferred mode for CBDC-R as it would be closer to physical cash.
An account-based system would require maintenance of record of balances and transactions of all holders of the CBDC and indicate the ownership of the monetary balances. In this case, an intermediary will verify the identity of an account holder. This system can be considered for CBDC-W.
There are two models for issuance and management of CBDCs under the RBI’s consideration — direct model (single tier model) and indirect model (two-tier model). In the direct model, the central bank will be responsible for managing all aspects of the digital rupee system such as issuance, account-keeping and transaction verification.