Mains Q & A 21 December 2022
Q1. Analyse the risks posed by space debris and the various methods that can be employed to eliminate it. Comment on the demand for a comprehensive protocol for space debris mitigation. (250 words)
Paper & Topic: GS III Science and Technology
Model Answer:
Introduction:
The term “space debris” refers to the vast majority of abandoned, man-made objects in orbit, particularly those in Earth orbit. This substance is made up of the pieces that are left over after the erosion, disintegration, and impact. Defunct spacecraft, used rocket stages, lost tools, boosters, and weapons are only a few examples of the sources of space trash. Space debris is now a serious problem since objects in orbit are wandering and putting astronauts and satellites in danger. According to the European Space Agency, there are currently 128 million particles smaller than 1 cm, 900,000 particles between 1 and 10 cm, and 34,000 particles greater than 10 cm in Earth orbit.
Body:
To clear space debris, a variety of technologies are available:
The act of removing this trash from its orbit so that it can burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere is known as de-orbiting.
The most typical course of action is to choose a controlled re-entry. Because more gasoline is needed, this method is time-consuming and costly.
Laser techniques:
The laser broom slows the object by abrading the front of the rubbish with a ground-based laser, simulating a rocket impulse.
The debris would fall far enough to be affected by air drag with continued application.
The space junk will be burned up. Australia is where these lasers were deployed.
vehicles that are operated remotely.
Using a remotely operated vehicle to locate, collect, and transport debris to a central station is a well-researched technique.
Space Infrastructure Service, a commercially constructed refuelling depot and servicing spacecraft for communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit, is one such system that was previously planned for a launch in 2015.
In order to “push deceased satellites into graveyard orbits,” the SIS would be able to.
Harpoon:
The purpose of the Remove DEBRIS mission is to test several ADR systems on simulated targets in low Earth orbit.
Complete Capture:
Using a cable, they remove the trash from orbit, where they then gather it in a huge net.
Need for a comprehensive space debris mitigation strategy:
Any nation’s decision to test an anti-satellite weapon and produce tonnes of waste in the process is therefore unpunishable because space is a commons.
Active satellites, unmanned spacecraft, and spaceships are all put in danger by space junk.
worldwide space station Whipple shielding is used by the ISS to defend it from small debris, although some parts, most notably its solar panels, are difficult to screen.
The Kessler Effect, commonly referred to as the Kessler Syndrome, is a danger in which a piece of debris breaks off and collides with another, causing a domino effect that might contaminate a whole satellite orbit.
Larger objects can still reach the earth uninjured even if the rest of the debris burns up in the atmosphere. NASA estimates that over the past 50 years, one piece of debris has returned to Earth on average every day.
Conclusion:
It might be desirable for spacefaring nations to construct conventional bridges.
It is imperative to swiftly amend the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was negotiated during an earlier space race with minimal input from China.
In particular, clauses that grant nations perpetual ownership rights over their spacecraft may make debris cleanup more challenging.
The creation of innovative debris-removal technologies, like those recently demonstrated by the Japanese startup Astroscale, should be supported by space authorities, who should also think about forming collaborations with the businesses involved.
The US believes that the Artemis Accords, a framework for international space cooperation that now includes 11 additional nations, should be enlarged.
Debris-mitigation measures, such the obligation to state which country is in charge of end-of-mission planning, should become the norm as additional countries join.
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Q2. Marital rape is illegal, against the law, and incompatible with women’s constitutional rights, according to contemporary social jurisprudence. It is high time for India to make marital rape a crime. Analyse. (250 words)
Paper & Topic: GS I Women Empowerment
Model Answer:
Introduction:
Having sex with one’s spouse without the other person’s consent is referred to as marital rape. Many nations now recognise it as rape even though it used to continuously be condemned as evil or as a crime by law and society. India’s penal code has undergone a lot of revisions to better protect women. Since marital rape is not a crime in India, the fundamental rights and dignity of women are under jeopardy. The Chhattisgarh High Court’s recent ruling in a case concerning marital rape has reignited the discussion of whether or not it should be made less punishable.
Body:
Conditions right now:
Despite the fact that more than 100 countries have already done so, just 36 countries, including India, still do not consider marital rape to be a crime.
The Indian government should make marital rape a crime, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recommended in 2013. (CEDAW).
The same suggestion was given by the JS Verma committee, which was established following massive protests against the gang rape case on December 16, 2012.
A woman in India faces a sexual assault every 16 minutes, and abuse from her in-laws every 4 minutes, according to an NCRB report.
According to a research using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015–16, the average Indian woman is 17 times more likely to encounter sexual assault from her husband than from other people, and it is thought that 99.1% of sexual assault occurrences do not result in complaints.
Marital rape is prohibited by both the law and the constitution as a violation of women’s rights:
The patriarchal mentality that regards women as the property of men after marriage, with no autonomy or control over their bodies, is still reflected in the rape laws in our nation.
The Indian constitution does not provide married women with the same legal rights.
The reason a marriage shouldn’t be viewed as allowing a guy to treat his wife mercilessly without suffering any repercussions baffles legislators. Whether or not they are married, women have control over their own bodies.
The term “implied consent” originated in India and is based on the idea of marital rape.
They cannot get married if neither a man nor a woman has ever given their consent to sexual activity.
Making marital rape a felony, according to the centre, would undermine the institution of marriage and provide harassers free access to husbands.
It emphasised the SC’s and other HCs’ views on the rise in improper application of IPC Section 498A. (harassment of a married woman by her husband and in-laws).
The Indian Penal Code of 1860 has a related defense. The six categories that make up Section 375 collectively specify what constitutes rape as a crime. The phrase “Sexual intercourse or sexual activities by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, are not rape” is one of the exceptions to this offence.
Prior to this change, Section 375 (Exception) distinguished between consent from a married woman and consent from an unmarried woman, as well as between consent from a married woman who was under the age of 15 and consent from a married woman who was over the age of 15. The Supreme Court made the right decision in reversing this and setting the lawful drinking age at 18.
Why marital rape ought to be criminalised in India:
Only partially could the Supreme Court’s decision prevent the legalisation of marital rape.
Marital rape must be covered under the rape laws, and the IPC’s Section 375 (Exception) must be repealed. This legal concern must also be acknowledged by the legislation.
If this prohibition is abolished, women will benefit from enhanced protection from abusive spouses, access to the therapeutic support they need after being raped in marriage, and the capacity to defend oneself against both domestic and sexual assault.
Indian women should be treated equally and no one, not even a spouse, should be permitted to violate another person’s human rights.
Conclusion:
No matter who committed the crime or how old the victim was, it was still rape. When a woman experiences a sexual assault at the hands of her husband, all that is left of the perpetrator is the recollection. In a similar vein, when a woman experiences a sexual assault at the hands of a stranger, all that is left of the horrific event is the memory. Even after 73 years of independence, the majority of the criminal laws we obtained from the British are still in effect. Due to a change in the law that became effective in 1991, marital rape is now a crime in England. However, no Indian administration has up until this point demonstrated a sincere effort to find a solution.
#Marital_Rape #Women’s_Constitutional_Rights #Contemporary_Social_Jurisprudence #India #GS-I #Women_Empowerment #Mains #IAS #UPSC #Civil_Services
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