22 March 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Central Agency arrests Kejriwal (Page No. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
- Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal's arrest by Enforcement Directorate in Delhi liquor policy case fits into a larger pattern of Opposition parties coming under the organisation's net under BJP-led NDA rule since 2014.
- A report carried by The Indian Express in September 2022 - based on a study of court records, agency statements and reports of politicians booked, arrested, raided or questioned by the ED - pointed to how, since 2014, when NarendraModi-led BJP 1st came to power, there had been a four-fold jump in ED cases against politicians in comparison to the UPA regime earlier.
- The investigation showed that 121 prominent politicians had come under ED probe between 2014 and 2022, of whom 115 were Opposition leaders who had been booked, raided, questioned or arrested-95% of the cases.
SC stays Govt fact check unit, says challenge involves free speech (Page No. 1)
(GS paper 2, Polity and Governance)
- A DAY after the Centre notified a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the government, the Supreme Court Thursday stayed the oper- ation of the notification until the Bombay High Court takes a final decision on petitions challenging the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology Rules.
- A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the challenge before the High Court "implicates core values impinging on freedom of speech protected by Article 19".
- The FCU has been a con- tentious issue with concerns about the government's fairness to act as an arbiter in matters where it may have a conflict of interest. There are worries about its potential impact on press freedom, especially when reports critical of the government are published. With social media platforms becoming an important tool for media companies to disseminate content, flagging of are port as fake by the FCU can prompt the government to direct a platform to remove the links to that report.
- The Fact Check Unit under PIB was established in November 2019 with a stated objective of acting as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news and misinformation. It also provides people with an easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India.
Nation's 2nd Pvt rocket launch postponed (Page No. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Space)
- THE SUB-ORBITAL launch of India's second privately developed rocket, which was scheduled for Friday early morning, has been postponed.
- A day ahead of the launch, Agnikul Cosmos, the IIT-Madras incubated startup, said: "Holding our launch out of an abundance of caution based on certain minor observations from the full count down rehearsals last night. Will keep you all posted on the new date and time. Thanks a lot for all the support that has been pouring in."
- The SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD) is a single stage rocket that would test the company's Agnilet engine in a real flight. A sub-orbital launch takes the payloads to space or close to it but cannot push it into an orbit around the Earth. This was a much anticipated launch, with the launch vehicle using a 3D printed engine.
- Another significant thing about the launch is that it would use the first private launch platform that the company has set up at the country's only spaceport at Sriharikota. And, the use of this platform also means that the rocket will not utilise guiderails to determine its lift-off trajectory. Instead, Agnibaan SOrTeD will lift off vertically and follow a pre-de- termined trajectory.
- It is expected to reach the height of around 20 km and then splash back down to Earth. To compare, commercial airplanes fly at a height of around 10 km.
Subduction Zone Below The Gibraltar Strait (Page No. 3)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
- Recently, scientists predicted the ‘Ring of Fire’ Subduction Zone beneath the Gibraltar Strait. They are the regions where tectonic plates collide and one plate is thrust beneath another, descending into the Earth’s mantle at rates of 2-8 centimetres per year.
- The process of subduction is driven by the temperature difference between the subducting slab and the surrounding asthenosphere, as the colder oceanic lithosphere has, on average, a greater density.
- These are responsible for the planet’s most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. Subduction zones are not static and can evolve over time.
- For instance, the scientists, in a recent study, raised concerns about the future of the Atlantic Ocean. They identified a subduction zone, known as the ‘Ring of Fire’, that could potentially swallow the Atlantic Ocean near the Strait of Gibraltar. It is predicted to expand westwards over the next 20 million years.
India’s Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2024
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
- The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has introduced a new set of amendments to India’s Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
- It defines biodegradable plastics as not only capable of degradation by biological processes in specific environments such as soil, landfill but also as materials that do not leave any microplastics. Rules specify that the makers of disposable plastic ware can label them as biodegradable only when they do not leave any microplastics behind.
- The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) refused to provide a ‘provisional certificate’ to licence the products as biodegradable because the CPCB only considers as biodegradable a plastic sample that has 90% degraded, and such a process takes at least two years.
- India has banned the production, use, and sale of single-use plastics such as bags, cups, plates, cutlery, and straws in many states. The Indian government has implemented EPR, making plastic manufacturers responsible for managing and disposing of the waste generated by their products.
- India introduced the Plastic Waste Management Rules in 2016, which provide a framework for managing plastic waste through various measures, including recycling and waste-to-energy initiatives.
CJI pulls up Tamil Nadu Governor: He is defying the Supreme court (Page No. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity & Governance)
- The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi over his refusal to administer oath to reinduct DMK MLA K Ponmudi, whose conviction was stayed by the apex court, into the state Cabinet.
- The Madras High Court had recently reversed Ponmudi’s acquittal in a case of disproportionate assets, but on March 13, a two-judge SC bench stayed this saying it would otherwise lead to irreversible consequences.
- The court was hearing an application by TN government, which said that after the SC order Chief Minister M K Stalin had requested the Governor to administer the oath of office to Ponmudi but the Governor, while referring to the grounds on which he was convicted by the HC, refused the request and said “his reinduction while he remains tainted of corruption would be against constitutional morality”.
