News & Editorial Analysis 12 May 2023

The Hindu News Analysis

1 – International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure:

GS III

Disaster Management related issues

CDRI Information:

CDRI is a global alliance of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks, the corporate sector, and academic and research organisations.

National governments lead and oversee the CDRI, which generates and exchanges knowledge on various areas of infrastructure catastrophe resilience.

New Delhi, India is home to the CDRI Secretariat.

Date of birth: September 23, 2019.

Members: As of March 2021, CDRI had 29 members, including 22 national governments and 7 organisations.

International Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Conference:

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) holds an annual international conference in conjunction with member governments, organisations, and institutions to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilient infrastructure.

Infrastructure that is Disaster Resistant is Required:

The Sendai Framework for Catastrophe Risk Reduction (SFDRR) emphasises the importance of increased infrastructure disaster resilience as a cornerstone for long-term development.

Four particular loss reduction targets are included in the SFDRR:

Reduce the worldwide catastrophic death rate.

Reduce the amount of people who are affected.

Reduce direct economic loss from disasters.

Reduce the impact of disasters on key infrastructure.

Target (4) on infrastructure is a necessary precondition for meeting the framework’s other loss reduction goals.

Source à The Hindu

2 – Sealed Cover Jurisprudence:

GS III

Judiciary related issues

What is the law of sealed covers:

The Supreme Court, as well as several lesser courts, has a tradition of requesting or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges.

While the notion of sealed cover is not defined by law, the Supreme Court has the authority to apply it under Rule 7 of Order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

Order XIII, Rule 7 of the Supreme Court Rules:

According to the rule, if the Chief Justice or the court orders that specific material be kept under seal or considered secret, no party will be granted access to the contents of that information.

Exceptions:

If the Chief Justice rules that the opposing side be given access to it.

It also states that information can be kept private if it is not regarded in the public interest to release it.

The Indian Evidence Act of 1872, Section 123:

Official unpublished papers relevant to state matters are safeguarded under this statute, and a public officer cannot be forced to release them.

Other times when material is required in confidence or secrecy is when its release would jeopardise an ongoing investigation, such as details from a police case diary.

Sealed Covers Have the Following Benefits:

When the subject was the Official Secrets Act.

To keep the public’s faith in the government agency.

International negotiations that are delicate or involve sensitive security issues.

Details regarding survivors of sexual assaults or child abuse that may have an impact on their future lives and cause unnecessary shame, so jeopardising their right to live in dignity.

The current investigation is sometimes harmed by disclosure.

Sealed Cover Jurisprudence’s Problems:

Against the Transparency and Accountability Principles

Limits the range of reasoning.

Obstruction of a fair trial and judgement.

Nature is arbitrary.

Source à The Hindu

3 – Press Freedom Index:

GS III

International Organizations related issues

Index of World Press Freedom:

Since 2002, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, has published an annual report.

RSF is a non-governmental organisation based in Paris that has consultative status with the UN, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).

The Index ranks countries and regions based on the level of journalistic freedom they have. It is not, however, a measure of the quality of journalism.

Five contextual variables are used to assess each country or territory’s score: political setting, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety.

India’s performance:

Out of 180 countries, India has dropped eight places to number 150 in 2022.

According to the report, India’s ranking dropped as a result of growing “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media,” putting press freedom in the world’s largest democracy in “crisis.”

The media in India, one of the world’s most democratic countries, is under attack from “increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments.”

It also criticises India’s policy framework, which is protective in theory but resorts to charging journalists critical of the government with defamation, sedition, contempt of court, and harming national security, branding them as “anti-national.”

Other countries’ performance:

Norway is a country in Northern Europe (1st) The top five countries were Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Estonia (4th), and Finland (5th).

North Korea stayed at the bottom of the 180-nation list.

Russia was ranked 155th out of 180 countries.

Neighbours of India:

Nepal has moved up 30 places in the world rankings to 76th place.

Pakistan was ranked 157th, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd, and Myanmar 176th on the index.

China was placed 175th in the world.

The following is information about World Press Freedom Day:

Following the request of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991, the UN General Assembly declared the day in 1993.

The day also commemorates the Windhoek Declaration of 1991. (adopted by UNESCO).

Its goal is to “promote the growth of a free, independent, and pluralistic press.”

Source à The Hindu

4 – ISRO Mission to Venus:

GS III

Space related issues

Regarding Venus:

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, with a surface temperature of 500 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt lead.

The dense atmosphere of the planet has increased the surface pressure to 90 bars.

It takes 243.0226 Earth days for Venus to complete one rotation. On Venus, a day lasts longer than a year because it takes 225 Earth days to complete one circle around the sun.

The planetary core of Venus is 4,360 miles (7,000 kilometres) in diameter, similar to Earth’s core.

Only two planets, Venus and Mars, rotate from east to west. Only Venus and Uranus rotate in the opposite direction.

Missions to Venus in the past:

Nasa mission Magellan, which concluded in 1994.

Venus Express is a European mission that studies the atmosphere.

Akatsuki is a Japanese spacecraft that studies the atmosphere.

Two new NASA missions to Venus:

Davinci+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) is a NASA project that will:

To learn more about how the planet’s atmosphere formed and evolved, take measurements of it.

Find out if Venus ever had an ocean.

Return the first high-resolution photographs of the planet’s geological structures known as “tesserae” (These features could be comparable to continents on Earth).

Veritas (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy): This mission will survey the planet’s surface in order to learn more about its geological past and how it differed from Earth.

It will employ a type of radar to map surface elevations and determine whether or not volcanoes and earthquakes are still active.

Source à The Hindu

#India #World #Daily #The_Hindu_Analysis #IAS #UPSC #Stact_PSC #Prelims #Mains #GeoIAS

The Hindu Editorial Analysis

EDITORIAL ANALYSIS à 12 MAY 2023 à THE HINDU:

POKHRAN 2:

Introduction:

The nuclear weapon tests conducted by India at Pokhran on May 11, 1998, were a critical step towards becoming a nuclear power. Between May 11 and May 13, 1998, five nuclear explosions were conducted consecutively. India is currently the sixth nation to have conducted nuclear weapon testing. National Technology Day was established to commemorate the first of the five explosions from the Pokhran-II nuclear weapons test, which happened on May 11.

The outcomes:

The 1998 nuclear tests sparked a chain of events that led to possibly India’s biggest dispute with the US. On May 13, Washington imposed penalties on New Delhi in accordance with the Glenn Amendment.

India had a plethora of issues as a result of the test, including isolation on the social, political, and economic fronts.

Pakistan conducted several nuclear tests between May 28 and May 30, and China reprimanded India for what it saw as a flagrant disregard for the international community’s collective will.

The decision to test at home was challenged by the Left and the Congress.

Pokhran II: Indian nuclear capability demonstrated:

It is obvious that India’s nuclear tests at the time were a reflection of its emergence into self-confidence and an awareness of its potential.

India had established its superiority in both science and technology. We might also assert that the event will be remembered as a testament to India’s military prowess.

India will always remember this day as one of national pride because it served as a symbol of its freedom.

India has managed to reach civil nuclear agreements with a number of countries, including the US, Japan, and Australia, despite not being a signatory to either the CTBT or the NPT. Due to an NSG waiver that exempts India from the entirety of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, this has been made possible. The US, France, Germany, and Russia all agreed to support this waiver.

As of right now, India is a member of the MTCR, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Australia Group, three of the four international export control systems, and it is a potential candidate to join the NSG.

Despite not being a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Pokhran-II gave India the strategic breathing room it required to act on the global arena and show how it would behave inside the rules-based system.

India’s nuclear strategy:

establishing and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent, which is the number of nuclear weapons India needs to scare off potential nuclear adversaries.

India initially implemented a “No First Use” policy following the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. India will pursue a “retaliation only” policy, according to the official government position up until this point.

Nuclear retaliation attacks can only be ordered by the civilian political leadership working through the Nuclear Command Authority. The Nuclear Command Authority is composed of an Executive Council and a Political Council. The Political Council is presided over by the Prime Minister. It is the only organisation that has the power to approve the use of nuclear weapons.

avoiding using nuclear bombs against countries without them. The ban on nuclear tests was maintained by continuing strict restrictions on the export of technologies and materials related to nuclear and missile systems. However, India will still be able to use nuclear weapons in retaliation in the event of a significant strike against India or Indian forces elsewhere.

Our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and non-discriminatory, universally verified nuclear disarmament.

Conclusion:

India has therefore earned the right to claim the title of a responsible state, which is advantageous in times when nations like the US and China are perceived as not upholding their obligations under international agreements, regardless of whether it is the Paris Climate Accord, the NSG, or the freedom of Pokhran-II and what followed.

#India #World #Daily #The_Hindu_Editorial_Analysis #IAS #UPSC #Stact_PSC #Prelims #Mains #GeoIAS

The Indian Express Editorial Analysis

EDITORIAL ANALYSIS à 12 MAY 2023 à THE INDIAN EXPRESS:

NUCLEAR DETERRENCE:

Context:

On May 11, National Technology Day was marked in honour of the five nuclear tests, code-named Operation Shakti, that were successfully carried out on that date in 1998. This was the second Pokharan testing session, the first being the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) test of a single weapon in 1974 under the pseudonym Smiling Buddha.

We Need Nuclear Deterrence:

India and China have strained relations as a result of China and Pakistan’s occupation of Indian territory and violation of India’s sovereignty in a hostile neighbourhood. A credible minimum deterrence (CMD) was necessary to demoralise them.

Nuclear proliferation: Pakistan and China had a friendly relationship despite international non-proliferation laws, and China helped Pakistan acquire nuclear weapons.

A power imbalance in the region resulted, jeopardising India’s security and vital interests.

Global leadership: India has long desired to be a significant player in the international community and is worthy of a place at the head of the table. Given that it is a responsible nuclear state, it may assert its position.

Strategic Technology: It helped India improve its research and development skills in a variety of areas, including space, nuclear energy, cutting-edge weaponry, defence capabilities, etc.

Core Principles of Traditional Indian Nuclear Deterrence Policy for 2003:

No First Use and Credible Minimum Deterrence: In nuclear strategy, minimal deterrence—also known as minimum deterrence or finite deterrence—is an application of the deterrence theory in which a state possesses no more nuclear weapons than are necessary to deter an adversary from attacking.

According to the “pure minimal deterrence” ideology of “No First Use,” the only goal of nuclear weapons is to discourage nuclear adversaries by making the cost of a first strike intolerably high.

India wouldn’t attack another country with nuclear weapons.

For there to be a credible deterrence, there must be an assurance that any attack would result in reprisal.

A nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be “massive” in magnitude and will result in “unacceptable amounts of damage.”

India’s nuclear arsenal was created solely for defensive purposes and to serve as a deterrent against nuclear attacks from elsewhere.

The non-use principle must be adhered to while dealing with countries without nuclear weapons.

Nuclear retaliation attacks can only be launched by civil political leadership using the Nuclear Command Authority. As a prudent nuclear state, India today commands a great deal of respect internationally.

keeping the testing prohibition, participating in FMCT negotiations, and maintaining strict restrictions on the transfer of commodities relating to nuclear and missile technologies. India currently complies with international non-proliferation rules in an indirect manner, which has improved India’s standing abroad.

India will be able to use nuclear weapons as retaliation in the event of a serious biological or chemical attack against it.

Relentless pursuit of the goal of a universal, verifiable, and non-discriminatory arms reduction.

Indian Nuclear Triad Model:

This paradigm holds that a nuclear-armed state should be able to launch nuclear strikes on the land, the air, and the sea.

Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) would be the go-to weapon in this scenario if the other two failed.

India’s nuclear triad was recently completed.

New ideas in India’s Nuclear Doctrine:

Despite being openly denied, the Indian Armed Forces developed the Cold Start military doctrine for use in a fight with Pakistan.

It requires conducting offensive operations along India’s western border within 48 hours without risking the risk of a nuclear exchange while operating as a unit.

A limited military strategy is to quickly seize Pakistani land and surprise the enemy.

Defensive Offence and Double Squeeze Policy: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval claims that the goal of this plan is to make it costly for Pakistan to continue funding terrorism against India.

When you use defensive offence, you target the offense’s origin.

Between the two extremes of an offensive attack and pure defensive, it is the middle ground.

Pure defence is useless since terrorists will always find a way to circumvent security measures and penetrate. An offensive strategy is not chosen due to the probability of the nuclear threshold being crossed in an all-out war.

The majority of terrorists under Double Squeeze are motivated by money, thus it is simple to control them by lavishing them with more cash than what their handlers in Pakistan have provided them.

Another method of preventing radicalization among Indian young is to cooperate with the Muslim community through Islamic institutions.

Pakistan’s weaknesses, like Balochistan, can also be used to lower support for terrorists.