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To avoid inconvenience to the public and beneficiaries of government schemes and quell a sense of anxiety about a recent directive to cease the usage of Aadhaar as a proof of ‘date of birth’, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is likely to issue a clarification soon that those relying on the ID proof for age may do so after undertaking a “risk-based assessment”.
The UIDAI, in a December 2023 missive, asked all agencies that use Aadhaar to authenticate identities to delete it from the list of acceptable documents for verifying a person’s date of birth.
The authority said this was an iteration of its stated position and had been highlighted by different High Court judgments.
Now, Aadhaar cards come with a prominent disclaimer that they are “a proof of identity, not of citizenship or date of birth”.
A senior Electronics and Information Technology Ministry official indicated that the UIDAI would not withdraw the directive but would soon issue an advisory for agencies that rely on Aadhaar authentication for welfare benefits and KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance purposes.
Editorial
A ruling that gives primary school teaching a new slate (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
In August 2023, the Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of the Rajasthan High Court in ruling that the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree cannot be considered appropriate for primary schoolteaching — the relevant degree for this level of school is the Diploma in Education (DEd) or Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) or Bachelor of Elementary Education (BElEd).
Effectively, this nullified an earlier notification by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) that the BEd degree can be accepted.
This may seem like a minor point with regards to a profession that is widely believed to not be very aspirational. But this is a decision that has wide implications for recruitment and policy — and rightly so.
Opinion
In Gaza, peace prospects remain distant (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
As the conflict in Gaza neared its fifth month, the wanton death and destruction wreaked upon its Palestinian residents spurred major peace initiatives that brought together intelligence officials from the U.S. and Israel engaging with counterparts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
To push the process forward, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also embarked on his fifth visit to the region mainly to convey to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need to accept a ceasefire and allow increased humanitarian assistance to reach the beleaguered people in Gaza.
A peace plan emerged in Paris at the end of January following talks among the intelligence chiefs and the Qatari Prime Minister.
It called for a two-month cease fire when the remaining hostages held by Hamas would be released in return for a several Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
Hamas fine-tuned this proposal by calling for a 135-day truce when the release of hostages would take place in three stages, along with an increased flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This would be followed by a full cease fire and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.
Text & Context
What are IPCC’s assessment reports? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Since 1988, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has produced six assessment reports, three special reports, and methodology reports that provide guidelines for estimating greenhouse gas emissions and removal. Three reports from the IPCC’s sixth assessment cycle (AR6) were published in 2021-2022.
These documents — prepared by scientists from the 195 countries that are part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) — examine the science, consequences, adaptation, and vulnerability as well as the mitigation aspects of climate change.
Over the years, these reports have substantiated the fact that the planet is warming and that humans bear primary responsibility.
The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) warned that the time to limit the rise of the world’s average surface temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial era — as agreed in the Paris Agreement — is running out and that we are close to breaching adaptation limits.
It also suggested some options and strategies to slow warming, and to adapt and build resilience in natural systems, in human-made systems, and in communities.
Why have fresh protests erupted in Senegal? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
On February 3, weeks before the end of his second and final term, Senegal’s President Maky Sall postponed Presidential elections due on February 25.
Opposition legislators, who were dragged out of parliament by riot police, were furious that the vote was deferred on grounds of a dispute between the National Assembly (parliament) and the Constitutional Council over the manner of selection of candidates.
The house thus packed with government lawmakers has effectively allowed Mr. Sall 10 more months in office by resetting the next election for December 15.
Protests have emerged across the country, with the police cracking down on protestors through indiscriminate detentions and violence leading to the death of one of them. The unprecedented decision in Dakar has been decried as a Constitutional coup d’état by the government’s critics.
News
Army upgrades firepower in eastern Arunachal near LAC (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
After strengthening defences as well as firepower in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, the Army has now beefed up its combat potential along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the rest of the State with the induction of its entire range of arsenal, from the latest firearms to M777 ultra-light howitzers.
The CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters have become a “game changer” in terms of their ability to lift heavy loads, including the M777s, and reach remote posts that are air maintained.
All helipads constructed or under construction in the past few years in Arunachal are to Chinook specifications. “All seven valleys have been connected with Chinook-specific helipads to ensure aerial connectivity,” an Army source said. Between 2020 and 2023, nine helipads were constructed and six more are under construction in the Army’s 3 Corps area.
Of these, five helipads of Chinook standards were constructed and three more are under construction in the districts of Lohit, Anjaw and Dibang.
World
U.S. to veto another ceasefire resolution aimed for Gaza at UN (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 18 persons overnight and into Sunday, according to medics and witnesses, as the United States said it would veto another draft UN ceasefire resolution.
The U.S., Israel’s top ally, instead hopes to broker a cease-fire agreement and hostage release between Israel and Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back, calling Hamas’ demands “delusional” and rejecting U.S. and international calls for a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
His Cabinet adopted a declaration on Sunday saying Israel “categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians” and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, which it said would “grant a major prize to terror” after the October 7 attack that triggered the war.
Mr. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until “total victory” over Hamas and to expand it to Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah, where more than half the enclave’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.
Science
What our ancestors’ genomes can tell us about modern health (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
These and many such questions have fascinated people for a long time. Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies powered by cutting-edge genomic techniques have opened a window into the past, providing unprecedented insights into the genetic makeup of our ancestors.
And by extracting and analysing DNA from ancient skeletal remains, scientists can reconstruct the genetic profiles of these people.
Studies of such ancestral DNA have provided glimpses into the genetic diversity and population dynamics of ancient communities, their migration patterns, interactions, and adaptations to local environments, and even into the diseases these people confronted and how the afflictions shaped human evolution.