In News

As per the S&P Global, India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) moved up from 55.3 in October to 55.7 in November, indicating that India’s manufacturing sector recorded the best uptick in output and new orders since August.

About Purchasing Managers’ Index:

• Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is an indicator of business activity, both in the manufacturing and services sectors. It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
• PMI is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed.
• Such resurgence in manufacturing sentiments is because of notable improvement in international demand for goods and expansion of new export orders.

How is the PMI calculated?

• The S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. The panel is stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP.
• Executives are asked whether key indicators such as output, new orders, business expectations and employment were stronger than the month before and are asked to rate them.
• Survey responses are collected in the second half of each month and indicate the direction of change compared to the previous month.

How does one read the PMI?

• PMI is indicated by a number between 0 and 100. A score above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction. A reading at 50 indicates no change.
• Higher the difference from 50 greater the expansion or contraction. The rate of expansion can also be judged by comparing the PMI with that of the previous month data.
• If the figure is higher than the previous month’s then the economy is expanding at a faster rate. If it is lower than the previous month then it is growing at a lower rate.

What is the significance of PMI for the economy?

• It provides a reliable expectation of how an economy is doing as a whole and manufacturing in particular.
• PMI is considered as a leading indicator of economic activity and is a good gauge of boom-and-bust cycles in the economy.
• Central banks of many countries also use the index to help make decisions on interest rates
• A good reading of PMI enhances the attractiveness of an economy vis-a-vis other competing economies.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/manufacturing-output-orders-rebound-in-november-sp-global-pmi/article66208739.ece/amp/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/what-is-purchasing-managers-index-pmi/articleshow/6259031.cms

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In News

Baguette, the staple French bread, was inscribed into the UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) recently in Morocco.

About French Baguette:

• The baguette is a long and thin loaf made of flour, water, salt and yeast, and is consumed as a staple in France.

• It is believed that it was invented by August Zang, a baker and an entrepreneur from Vienna in 1839, who introduced the world to the taste of crusty bread with softer insides, using a steam oven. It gained its official name in 1920.

Why was baguette nominated for the intangible cultural heritage list by France?

• France nominated baguette as its candidate for consideration to draw attention to the steady decline in the number of bakeries in the country as around 20,000 of them have closed down since 1970.
• Baguette, a staple diet of France, is today increasingly being purchased from supermarkets, rather than the traditional way, thus losing its original taste and quality.
• Baguette has a cultural significance for France, since its use is associated with people across all the generations.

What is intangible cultural heritage according to UNESCO?

• As per UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
• UNESCO established it’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.
• The list was established in 2008 when the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took effect.

What are the criteria for the selection?

There are three criteria for an intangible cultural heritage to be inscribed in the United Nations list

1. The entity must be recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage,
2. It must be transmitted from generation to generation and be constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and,
3. It must provide them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

What are India’s intangible cultural symbols on the UNESCO list?

• India has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the prestigious UNESCO Representative List of ICH of Humanity.
• This year, India nominated Garba, a traditional dance form, for inscription on UNESCO’s ICH list.

Source: 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/why-france-nominated-the-baguette-for-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-status-8301214/

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In News:

• The world fears another recession amid mass lay-offs by global companies

About the News:

• Numerous American multinational corporations including Amazon, Meta, Twitter and Morgan Stanley have announced massive layoffs during the past few months.
• A recession is a significant, widespread, and prolonged downturn in economic activity often measured by two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP)
• These developments are bound to have an impact, on India’s export prospects, especially in the information technology (IT) sector.
• Economists have predicted a grim macroeconomic condition which is a big red flag and has the potential for a global economic recession triggered by a recession in the U.S.A.

Major highlights of the trend:

• Global phenomena: With inflation soaring in most parts of the world, central banks have been increasing rates so as to make it more costly to borrow and consume which affects economic growth and jobs.
• External factors: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted global GDP growth in both 2022 and 2023 as gloomy owing to factors including the pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
• Impact: During global recessions’ companies tend to ease out on staff through massive layoffs, especially on benchmarks of poor performance records.
• Improving cost-benefit: Managements during a recession look critically at headcount numbers to cut costs and protect profit margins as they are accountable to investors.

Outlook for India:

• About: The Indian market especially IT services firms is among the largest employers in the organised sector and any global economic trend is bound to have an impact on their growth projections.
• Higher attrition rates: The number of employees per 100 quitting on their own are still high especially in the IT industry suggesting that there is enough business for the sector for competitors to draw away employees with the promise of higher salaries.
• Start-ups: As per the Indian start-up layoff tracker by Inc42, layoffs in the Indian start-up front have been predominantly in the educational technology (Edtech)

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/explained-how-will-global-layoffs-impact-india/article66211639.ece/amp/

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Why in news?

• Recently, a joint report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (WHC) expressed concern about the status of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia, recommending that it “be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.”

Key Findings of the report

• Factors affecting GBR: The GBR is adversely and significantly impacted by climate change (affecting its resilience to sustain and regenerate), frequent bleaching events (making many reefs sterile), degraded water quality.
• Conservation Outlook: Critical, Fishing and Coastal Development highlighted as major threats to the GBR
• The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan has been recognised as a significant step in providing an overarching framework for the management of the site and addressing the multiple threats it is facing; however, progress towards achieving some of the targets has been slow so far and it has not been possible yet to stop the decline in many of the site's values.
• As a result of climate change in conjunction with other factors, such as reef building and recruitment, the integrity of numerous critical processes supporting the complexity of the Great Barrier Reef has also been declining.
• Coral recruitment across the entire Great Barrier Reef is estimated to have decreased by 89 percent in 2018 compared to recruitment levels before 2016.

What does putting GBR on the List of World Heritage in Danger entail?

• Objective: According to UNESCO, “the List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.”
• Under the 1972 World Heritage Convention: Inscribing a site on the List allows the WHC to allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund to the endangered property, while simultaneously gathering international support and attention to the site.
• Inclusion in such a list can have a tangible impact on all kinds of developmental projects, which may be politically significant for governments.

Challenges before Australia

• If Australia were to adopt the recommendation of the panel to phase out “gill net fishing” which indiscriminately harms marine life (not just the intended catch), it would have to make substantial investments to compensate fisheries which rely on such a method.
  • It may also lose political goodwill amongst fishermen who form a voting block in Queensland.

Content Source Link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/the-great-barrier-reef-is-in-danger-australia-pushes-back-8301161/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/29/great-barrier-reef-australia-unesco-danger/

https://www.wionews.com/world/australias-great-barrier-reef-should-be-placed-on-world-heritage-in-danger-list-un-report-538486

Image Source Link:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Barrier-Reef

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• Context: Dragging debt talks in Sri Lanka put the spotlight on Chinese loans
• Debt-Trap Diplomacy was coined by Brahma Chellaney, an Indian Academic.

• The debt trap is a situation where you are forced to over-consume loans to repay your existing debts. Over time, the debt spirals out of control, exceeding your repayment capacity, and making you fall into a debt trap.
• Debt-trap diplomacy is a term used to define a creditor nation extending loans to a borrowing nation in order to expand the lender’s political leverage.
• The loans are extended to developing nations (low- and middle-income countries) on terms that are significantly more generous than market loans.
• The ‘concessionality’ factor is achieved either by
  • offering interest rates that are below the market rates or
  • leniency in the grace period, and /or
  • often with a combination of both.
• These nations are unable to keep up with the repayments, and the creditor nation gets a chance to demand concessions or advantages in exchange for debt relief.
• In a push to gain rapid political and economic ascendency across the globe, China is dispensing billions of dollars in the form of concessional loans to developing countries

Sources:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/dragging-debt-talks-in-sri-lanka-put-spotlight-on-chinese-loans/article66210618.ece/amp/

Image Source: Quora

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• Context: The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 2, 1949.

• Persistence of old forms of slavery is due to long-standing discrimination against society's most vulnerable groups, such as those considered to be of low caste, tribal minorities, and indigenous peoples.
• Modern slavery is not defined by law, but it includes forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking.
• Article 23 Of the Indian Constitution Prohibits Trafficking & Forced Labour:
  • 23(1): prohibits traffic in human beings, begar (forced labor/ compulsory work without remuneration), and other similar forms of forced labor.
  • essentially an exploitation situation in which a person is unable to refuse or leave due to threats, violence, coercion, deception, and abuse of power.
• The expression ‘traffic in human beings’ include
  • Selling and buying of men, women, and children like goods;
  • Immoral traffic in women and children, including prostitution;
  • Devadasis
  • Slavery
• To counter these issues, the Parliament has passed the
  • Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
  • The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
  • The Contract Labour Act, 1970
  • The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
  • The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Sources:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-5-things-to-know-101669958435126.html

Image source :

https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/remembering-victims-of-the-slave-trade-1502676542.html

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• Context: Recently remains of Natovenator were unearthed in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.
• The dinosaur, called Natovenator polydontus, lived about 72 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.

• Natovenator is part of the dinosaur group called theropods (sharing traits including bipedalism) which is large meat-eater like Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus and Giganotosaurus.
• But the theropods vary from long-clawed ground sloth-like Therizinosaurus, to ostrich-like Struthiomimus, and termite-eating Mononykus.
• Natovenator simply means ‘swimming thief’ (Nato in Latin means ‘swim’ and Venator means ‘hunter’.)
• It is a non-avian, semi-aquatic creature which was found in a freshwater ecosystem, paddled with front limbs and had a flexible neck to catch fish and insects.
• It had built like a diving bird with a streamlined body while possessing a goose-like elongated neck and a long-flattened snout with a mouth bearing more than 100 small teeth.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/new-dinosaur-natovenator-polydontus-cretaceous-period-8301740/

http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2022/12/natovenator.html

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• Context: Recently Red-Crowned Roofed Turtle and Leith’s Softshell Turtle facing high extinction risk have been added in Appendix I of CITES (COP 19.)
• Both the species are freshwater reptiles with who are known to retreat inside their shells to get away from people or animals.

• Habitat:

1. Red-crowned roofed turtle
2. India, Nepal and Bangladesh
3. In India: The Ganga and Brahmaputra River basins, National Chambal River Gharial Sanctuary
4. Leith’s soft-shell turtle (endemic to India)
5. Rivers and reservoirs mainly in southern peninsular: Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Bhavani, Godavari and Moyar drainages
6. Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu

• Threats:

1. Habitat loss due to unchecked mining and pollution
2. Water extraction and irrigation leading to irregular flow of dams

• Illegal fishing nets, poaching and illegal trade

1. Sand mining and agriculture in Ganga basin is destroying sandbars (nesting sites)

Conservation status:

Source:

https://www.news18.com/amp/news/india/on-brink-of-extinction-2-native-turtle-species-now-in-global-endangered-list-as-indias-proposal-gets-nod-6465337.html

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Why in news? Recently, Bihar has registered a 12-point drop, from 130 to 118 per lakh live births in maternal mortality ratio (MMR).

About:

• The maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time per 1,00,000 live births during the same time.
• The country had been witnessing a progressive reduction in the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and 103 in 2017-19.
• India is all set to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of a Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 70 maternal deaths per lakh live births by 2030.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/patna-news/bihars-maternal-mortality-rate-improves-still-worse-than-national-average-101669912444584.html’

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Why in news? As per the new research, Asia is not likely to meet the ambitious 30X30 goal proposed under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

About:

30x30 goal

• It is a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth's land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030.
• It was launched by the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People in 2020.
• It was first floated in 2019.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

• It is a legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity has been in force since 1993.
• It has 3 main objectives:
  • The conservation of biological diversity.
  • The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity.
  • The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
• CBD Secretariat is based in Montreal, Canada.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/cop15-montreal-asia-must-speed-up-its-protected-area-coverage-6-times-to-meet-30x30-goal-86276#:~:text=Asia%20is%20not%20likely%20to,by%202030%20under%20this%20goal

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Why in news? Recently, Prime Minister addressed the Manipur Sangai Festival via video message.

About:

• The festival is named after the state animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur.
• Sangai festival is an annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department every year.
• It started in the year 2010.
• The theme of the festival for this year is 'festival of oneness'.
• The festival showcases the contribution of the state to the natural environment along with art and culture, handlooms, handicrafts, fine arts, local sports, food, music and adventure sports.

https://theprint.in/india/pm-addresses-manipur-sangai-festival-via-video-message/1243428/

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Why in news? India will assume the Chairmanship of the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) Plenary on January 1, 2023, for a period of one year.

About:

• The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in the transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
• Wassenaar Arrangement’s Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria.
• It has 42 member states comprising mostly NATO and EU states.
• It is a successor to the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) from the Cold War era.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-to-assume-wassenaar-arrangement-chair-from-january/articleshow/95917798.cms?utm_source=whatsapp_pwa&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialsharebuttons&from=mdr

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Why in news? Recently, a meeting was held by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

About:

• It is a central sector programme aimed at growing and developing identified horticulture clusters to make them globally competitive.
• It is implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand etc. will also be included in the list of 55 clusters, identified with their focus/main crops.
• Earlier, in the pilot phase, it was implemented in 12 clusters covering 11 States/UTs.
• It aims to improve exports of targeted crops by about 20% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1879982

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Why in news? European researchers have raised concerns about yet another pandemic after resurrecting a 48,500-year-old ‘Zombie Virus’ from a frozen lake in Russia.

About:

• 13 new pathogens have been characterized, ‘Zombie Viruses’, which remained infectious despite spending many millennia trapped in the frozen ground.
• The virus emerged due to the thawing of permafrost as the global temperature is rising.
• The new strain is one of 13 viruses, each of which possesses its own genome.
• The oldest, dubbed Pandoravirus yedoma after the mythological character Pandora, was 48,500 years old, a record age for a frozen virus returning to a state where it has the potential to infect other organisms.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/uk/zombie-virus-see-50000-years-old-virus-found-in-siberia/articleshow/95889147.cms

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Exam View: Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India, All India Judicial Services (AIJS). Major Legal Norms Related to Judiciary in India, Challenges Related to the Indian Judicial System.

Judiciary is the most trusted institution of democracy and it is the body responsible for interpreting the law and imparting meaning to it. It is the defender of the constitution and the guardian of democracy. Under the Indian constitution, the judiciary is a single integrated system of courts for the Union and the states with the Supreme Court at the apex.

However, the Indian judiciary is currently experiencing a number of problems that are eroding its legitimacy. As a result, the public is losing faith in the judicial system and is hesitant to turn to this institution for assistance in resolving their issues.

Since “justice delayed is justice denied,” it is crucial that the judiciary solves these obstacles as soon as possible to ensure that Indian citizens do not hesitate to approach it.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Law and Justice regarding the pendency of cases, the number of cases pending in the Supreme Court is 72,062, in the High Courts it is 59,45,709 and in the District Courts, it is 4,19,79,353 — which is alarming.

Features Related to Judiciary in India

Challenges of Indian Judiciary:

• Pendency of Cases:As many as 30 million cases are still backlogged in India’s court system. Over 4 million of them involve the High Court, and 60,000 involve the Supreme Court. The fact that this figure keeps rising demonstrates the inadequacies of the justice system.
• Undertrial Cases: The majority of Indian prison inmates are still awaiting the verdict on their cases, and they are being held there until that time.
• Delays in recruitment:Judicial posts are not filled as quickly as necessary. For a country of 135 million, there are only about 25000 judges. There are almost 400 vacancies in the high courts. And around 35% of the posts are lying vacant in the lower judiciary.
• Appointment issues (Favouritism and Nepotism):Because there are no specific criteria for evaluating candidates for the post of Chief Justice of India, nepotism and favouritism is common.
• Lack of Transparency: There is no transparency in the judicial appointment, which negatively impacts the country's ability to regulate law and order. Also, they are not accountable to any administrative body that may lead to the wrong choice of the candidate while overlooking the right candidate.
• Representation issue:Another area of concern is the composition of the higher judiciary, where women are fairly underrepresented. Out of 1.7 million advocates registered, only 15% are women. In high courts, the percentage of women judges is a mere 11.5%, while in the Supreme Court there are four sitting women judges out of 33 in office.

Way Forward

• Changes in the appointment system: It is necessary to establish an appropriate timeline for the appointment of judges and to provide suggestions in advance and also need to develop a better judicial system is the All-India Judicial Services (AIJS).
• Active investigation policy: Indian government needs to frame an investigation policy that is effective, proactive and comprehensive,taking into account all the stakeholders in the justice system.
• Clearing the massive backlog:The solution to clearing the massive backlog of cases requires more than just appointing more judges, it also requires innovative solutions. For example, solving basic civil cases through Metaverse techniques, using blockchain technology to store data, researching IT solutions that simplify workflow, and improving courtroom facilities are some ways to move past the current backlog.
• Better District Courts:The district courts are the primary area of concern in India’s need for judicial reform, which requires a bottom-up strategy. In order to improve judicial effectiveness at the lowest level, judicial audits of lower courts should be taken into account.
• Gender Parity:There is a need to maintain and promote Gender Diversity in the Higher Judiciary with a fixed percentage of its members as women judges that will lead to the evolution of a gender-neutral judicial system of India.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/a-burdened-judiciary-needs-help/article66175313.ece

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Background:

Road safety and environmental sustainability are closely intertwined concepts. Being cognizant of the latter while working on the former is the need of the hour.

About linkages between Road Safety and Environmental Sustainability:

• Road accidents adversely impact the environment since toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium, along with fuel and fluid leaks are seen at crash sites.
• Severe road crashes lead to unusable end-of-life vehicles giving rise to scrappage. Unscientific dismantling leads to the leakage of hazardous constituents such as oils, coolants and glass wool.
• Various initiatives to bring synergy between road safety and sustainability are:
• SaveLIFE Foundation’s Zero-Fatality Corridor (ZFC) solution for road safety focuses on reducing speeding using technology. It was deployed on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in 2016 and on Old Mumbai-Pune Highway in 2018. It helped in bringing down road crash fatalities by 52% and 61% as of 2020
• Initiatives include guarding natural hard structures such as trees using crash barriers to prevent direct collisions and installing retro-reflective signage on the trees to make them more visible to commuters.
• The government of India is building green corridors to go over forests and animal paths as opposed to going through them to prevent animal-vehicle collisions.
• ZFC programme promotes long-lasting, high-quality, non-hazardous materials such as Aluminium Composite Panels for signage instead of conventionally used asbestos materials which have an adverse impact on the environment.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/safer-roads-for-a-greener-more-sustainable-environment/article66209947.ece/amp/

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