Important Daily Facts of the Day

Kargil Vijay Diwas 2022 (GS Paper 3, Defence)

Why in news?

·         India today commemorated 23 years of its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War, saluting the supreme sacrifices and valour of the fallen heroes in recapturing several mountain heights seized by Pakistani intruders in Kashmir.

·         Operation Vijay came to a successful end on July 26, 1999. Every year on July 26, events and programmes are held across the country.

What was the reason for Kargil War?

·         The Kargil War was fought against intruders from Pakistan, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) into Indian territory during the winters of 1998.

·         They took up residence in fortified defences that overlooked the NH 1A in the Drass and Batalik Sectors of Kargil in the Ladakh region.

·         In 1999, the war went on from May 8 to July 26 in 1999, when India successfully completed Operation Vijay.

What Pakistan expected out of this situation?

·         Because of separatist actions in Kashmir, some of which were funded by Pakistan, tensions grew during the 1990s. The Lahore Declaration was an attempt by India and Pakistan to find a peaceful bilateral resolution to the issue. It was signed in February 1999.

·         However, some of the paramilitary elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces were training surreptitiously in Indian territory while some of them were operating under the pretence of mujahideen.

·         By severing the connection between Kashmir and Ladakh, Pakistan hoped to force the Indian military to leave the Siachen Glacier. If they had been successful, India would have been forced to discuss a resolution to the larger Kashmir problem.

·         Pakistan X Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmad, Major Generals Javed Hasan and Ashraf Rashid, and then-Army General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan masterminded the unlawful Pakistani annexation of Kargil. Nawaz Sharif, the-then prime minister of Pakistan, claimed to be not aware of this operation. 

India’s Strategy:

·         India used conventional military force to combat the militarised insurgency by Pakistan. Kargil offered a tactical puzzle piece for military strategists as well. The direct-firing weapon was used for the first time by artillery.

·         The Indian Air Force was instructed not to cross the LoC at Kargil. Fighter pilots had to come up with new angles of attack because the majority of the enemy was virtually on the LoC.

·         Pakistani forces were ultimately defeated by the bravery of the Indian forces, and on July 26, 1999, they were forced to withdraw from the Indian territory they had been occupying. 

Coffee (Promotion and Development Bill), 2022

(GS Paper 2, Governance)

Why in news?

·         The Centre plans to repeal the existing 80-year old Coffee Act and has proposed a new “Coffee (Promotion and Development Bill), 2022” to promote development of the Indian coffee industry.

·         Through a new law, the government aims to modernise the functioning of the Coffee Board of India that is responsible for boosting production and the quality of Indian coffee, push exports and support the development of the domestic market.

Background:

·         The existing law was enacted in 1942, with provisions relevant to that time. Currently, many rules and regulations, especially those pertaining to the marketing of coffee, are redundant. Besides, over the past 10 years, there has been a paradigm shift in the way coffee is grown, marketed and consumed.

·         Therefore, a revised bill with holistic provisions aimed at promotion and development of the entire value chain of coffee and enabling ease of doing business is beneficial to all stakeholders and to the general public.

Key Highlights:

·         The new bill addresses several functional areas of the Coffee Board, such as support for production, research, extension, and quality improvement, promotion of coffee and skill development of growers.

·         It will also protect the interests of the labour in plantations, processing units and coffee communities.

·         It will promote ease of doing business by simplifying documentation and procedures, including replacing the existing five-year validity of Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) with a one-time exporter registration and bringing in a one-time registration of curing units.

·         Curing is a process that prepares coffee beans for the market. There will be a time-bound procedure in the Bill for issuing the Registration Certificate.

Expansion:

·         As far the strategy for production improvement is concerned, there will be expansion of coffee in suitable areas across the country.

·         Productivity improvement will take place through systematic research and development, transfer of technology as well as developmental support to the stakeholders. 

Way Forward:

·         The growth of the coffee industry will create jobs and business entrepreneurship opportunities in all sectors of the coffee value chain, from production to consumption.

·         Besides, consumers will get good quality coffee, on a par with other countries.

Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite

(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)

Why in news?

·         A joint satellite developed by the US and Europe will conduct a global freshwater survey to find hidden reservoirs of water.

·         Developed jointly by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatial (CNES), the mission will fill the enormous gap in data about sources of water on the planet.

Mandate:

·         While the world is made of 75 per cent of water, only a limited fraction of it can be used and consumed in daily life. Limited information and in some cases no information about river systems active in the world could prove detrimental to a world already facing water crises.

·         To identify these hidden sources, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will map the planet. The satellite will provide a better understanding of Earth’s water cycle, aid in better management of water resources, and expand knowledge of how climate change affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.

What is SWOT Mission?

·         The satellite will measure the height of water bodies on Earth’s surface. It will also be equipped to see features like eddies less than 100 kilometers across in the ocean.

·         The SWOT will also measure more than 95 per cent of Earth’s lakes larger than 15 acres and rivers wider than 330 feet across.

·         The spacecraft will use a Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), which bounces radar pulses off the water’s surface and receives the return signal with two antennas at the same time. The radar will be able to gather information along a roughly 120-kilometer-wide area of the planet at once.

·         The spacecraft, along with measuring the water height whether it be in a lake, river, or reservoir, will also measure its extent, or surface area. That crucial information will enable scientists to calculate how much water moves through freshwater bodies.

Significance:

·         Scientists have long speculated that climate change is accelerating Earth’s water cycle. Warmer temperatures mean the atmosphere can hold more water (in the form of water vapor), which can cause rain storms to be stronger than a region might typically see. The change could lead to major consequences for global agriculture and food production.

·         As Earth’s water cycle intensifies, predicting future extreme events like floods and droughts requires monitoring both changes in water supply from the ocean and water demand and usage on land. 

What’s next?

·         The SWOT mission is scheduled to launch in November from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Congress MPs suspended from Lok Sabha

(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

Why in news?

·         Recently, four Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for the rest of the session for displaying placards and disrupting proceedings.

·         This after Speaker Om Birla issued a warning to Congress MPs Manickam Tagore, TN Prathapan, Jothimani and Ramya Haridas.

·         Parliamentary Affair Minister Pralhad Joshi later moved a resolution to suspend the four for the rest of the session.

How and why MPs are suspended?

·         Members wilfully causing a ruckus or obstructing a business in the Houses of Parliament can be suspended.

Lok Sabha:

·         In the Lok Sabha, the decision rests with the Speaker under Rule 375 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha in case of a grave disorder arising in the House.

·         Rule 374A states that in case a member comes into the well of the House or refuses to adhere to the rules and wilfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans or otherwise, such a member will be named by the Speaker and "will stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the Session, whichever is less".

Rajya Sabha:

·         However, in the Rajya Sabha, the Chairman does not have the power to suspend a member.

·         The Chairman may name a member ‘name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing’ the House.

·         The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is empowered under Rule Number 255 of its Rule Book to “direct any Member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately” from the House.

·         “…Any Member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting.”

·         The Chairman may “name a Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing” business.

·         After this, the House may adopt a motion suspending the member from the House for not more than the remainder of the session, as per Deccan Chronicle.

·         The House may withdraw the suspension through another motion. The rulebook empowers the Chairman to enforce his decisions.

Does an MP get paid while on suspension?

·         Unfortunately, yes. Though the ‘no work, no pay’ policy has been under consideration for decades by successive governments at the Centre, it has not been introduced yet.

·         Meanwhile, session after session of Parliament has seen disruptions from Opposition MPs.

Previous notable suspensions:

·         The suspension of 12 MPs from Rajya Sabha for the entire Winter Session of Parliament in 2021 for their ‘unruly’ conduct in the previous August session remains  the biggest such action in the history of the Upper House.

·         The second-highest number occurred in the Upper House occurred in 2020, with eight MPs being suspended.

·         On 15 March, 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, as many as 63 Members were suspended from the Lok Sabha for three days.

·         In 2010, seven MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha.

·         Two repeat offenders stand out: Prominent leader and freedom fighter Raj Narayan who was suspended four times from Rajya Sabha while former deputy speaker Godey Murahari who was suspended twice from the Upper House.

World Bank appoints new chief economist

(Miscellaneous)

Why in news?

·         Recently, the World Bank has appointed Indermit Gill, an Indian national, chief economist and senior vice-president for development economics at the multilateral development bank.

·         His appointment will be effective September 1, 2022.

Second Indian:

·         He will be only the second Indian to serve as chief economist at the World Bank. Kaushik Basu was the first, having served in the job from 2012-2016.

·         Raghuram Rajan and Gita Gopinath have served as chief economists at the International Monetary Fund.

About Indermit Gill:

·         He is widely respected for his intellectual contributions to development economics. Gill spearheaded the influential 2009 World Development Report on Economic Geography.

·         His pioneering work includes introducing the concept of the “middle income trap” to describe how developing countries stagnate after reaching a certain level of income.

·         He has published extensively on policy issues facing developing countries, sovereign debt, green growth, labour markets, poverty and inequality, and managing natural resource wealth.