Climate Change Performance Index 2023

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Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Home Ministry proposed amendment to the Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969.

• The bill will be introduced in the winter session of parliament.

What are the Proposed Amendments?

• It has been proposed to make birth certificates a mandatory document for almost every sphere of life — admission in educational institutions, inclusion in the voter list, appointment in Central and State government jobs, issue of driving licence and passport.
• It shall be mandatory for hospitals and medical institutions to provide a copy of all death certificates, stating the cause of death, to the local registrar apart from the relative of the deceased.
  • According to the Civil Registration System (CRS) report, the registration level of births for the country increased to 92.7% in 2019 from 82.0% in 2010 and that of registered deaths increased from 66.9% in 2010 to 92.0 % in 2019.
  • CRS is an online system for registration of births and deaths under the operational control of the RGI.

What is the Need for the Amendments?

• The draft amendments would enable the Registrar General of India (RGI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to “maintain a database of registered birth and deaths at the national level”.
• The birth and death database at the national level that will be available with the RGI may be used to update the Population Register, the Electoral Register, and the Aadhar, ration card, passport and driving licence databases.
• If the amendments are implemented, the Centre could use the data to update the National Population Register (NPR) that was first prepared in 2010 and revised through door-to-door enumeration in 2015.
  • The NPR already has a database of 119 crore residents and under the Citizenship Rules, 2003, it is the first step towards the creation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC).

What is Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969?

• Registration of Births and Deaths in India is mandatory with the enactment of RBD, Act 1969 and is done as per the place of occurrence of the event.
• Under the RBD Act, it is the responsibility of the States to register births and deaths.
• State governments have set up facilities for registering births and deaths and keeping records.
• A Chief Registrar appointed in every State is the executive authority for implementation of the Act.
  • A hierarchy of officials at the district and lower levels do the work.
• The RGI, appointed under this Act, is responsible for coordinating and unifying the implementation of the RBD Act.

Source: TH

Rare Earth Metals

Why in News?

Amid India's reliance on China for rare earth minerals imports, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has urged the government to encourage private mining in the sector and diversify supply sources.

• Though India has 6% of the world’s rare earth reserves, it only produces 1% of global output, and meets most of its requirements of such minerals from China.
• In 2018-19, for instance, 92% of rare earth metal imports by value and 97% by quantity were sourced from China.

What are the Suggestions of CII?

• CII suggested that an 'India Rare Earths Mission' be set up manned by professionals, similar to the India Semiconductor Mission, as a critical component of the Deep Ocean Mission.
• The industry group has also mooted making rare earth minerals a part of the ‘Make In India’ campaign, citing China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative that focuses on new materials, including permanent magnets that are made using rare earth minerals.

What are Rare Earth Metals?

• They are a set of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table in addition to scandium and yttrium that show similar physical and chemical properties to the lanthanides.
  • The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y).
• These minerals have unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties and thus are used in many modern technologies, including consumer electronics, computers and networks, communications, health care, national defense, clean energy technologies etc.
• Even futuristic technologies need these REEs.
  • For example, high-temperature superconductivity, safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a post-hydrocarbon economy etc.
• They are called 'rare earth' because earlier it was difficult to extract them from their oxides forms technologically.
• They occur in many minerals but typically in low concentrations to be refined in an economical manner.

How China Monopolised Rare Earths?

• China has over time acquired global domination of rare earths, even at one point, it produced 90% of the rare earths the world needs.
• Today, however, it has come down to 60% and the remaining is produced by other countries, including the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and United States).
• Since 2010, when China curbed shipments of Rare Earths to Japan, the US, and Europe, production units have come up in Australia, and the US along with smaller units in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• Even so, the dominant share of processed Rare Earths lies with China.

What is India's Current Policy on Rare Earths?

• Exploration in India has been conducted by the Bureau of Mines and the Department of Atomic Energy. Mining and processing has been performed by some minor private players in the past, but is today concentrated in the hands of IREL (India) Limited (formerly Indian Rare Earths Limited), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.
• India has granted government corporations such as IREL a monopoly over the primary mineral that contains REEs: monazite beach sand, found in many coastal states.
• IREL produces rare earth oxides (low-cost, low-reward “upstream processes”), selling these to foreign firms that extract the metals and manufacture end products (high-cost, high-reward “downstream processes”) elsewhere.
• IREL’s focus is to provide thorium — extracted from monazite — to the Department of Atomic Energy.

Way Forward

• India must take lessons from other advanced economies on how they are planning to secure their mineral needs and attempt to join multinational fora on assuring critical mineral supply chains – or use existing partnerships, such as Quad and BIMSTEC, to foster such dialogues.
  • There must also be top-level decision making within the government to strategize on how to create vertically integrated supply chains of green technologies manufacturing, or we may be in serious danger of missing out on our climate change mitigation targets.
• India needs to create a new Department for Rare Earths (DRE), which would play the role of a regulator and enabler for businesses in this space.

Source: TH

Meeting of China-Indian Ocean Region Forum

Why in News?

Recently, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), held a meeting of the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum in which 19 countries took part but not India.

What are the Key Highlights of the Meet?

• Theme: Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy.
• Participating Countries:
  • Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, Australia and representatives of 3 international organisations were present.
  • India was reportedly not invited.
• Marine Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Cooperation Mechanism:
  • China proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian Ocean region.
  • China expressed its willingness to provide necessary financial, material, and technical support to countries in need.

What does China Seek from the Meet?

• China is contending for influence in the strategic Indian Ocean region with substantial investments in ports and infrastructure in several countries.
• China has made substantial investments in ports and infrastructure investments in several countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• China has acquired Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port on a 99-year lease besides building the port at Pakistan’s Gwadar in the Arabian Sea opposite India’s western coast and infrastructure investments in the Maldives.

What are the Concerns?

• China has often been accused of engaging in “debt diplomacy” in these countries under its Belt and Road Initiative allegedly in the name of infrastructure development.
• Since 2008, China has regularly deployed a contingent of naval warships in the Gulf of Aden and established its first foreign military base in Djibouti in 2017.
• At the same time India's absence is seen as an attempt to challenge India’s traditional presence in the region amid apprehensions of politicization of the Indian Ocean region. Moreover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry refused to disclose who the participants were from other countries.
  • India has been a traditional partner and supporter of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) countries.

How is India's Presence in IORA?

• In addition, to act as a first responder during major crises in the littoral countries, India regularly engages with the Indian Ocean littoral countries through such mechanisms as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Indian Ocean Navies Symposium (IONS) under the vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
• India has strong influence in the Indian Ocean region where India-backed organisations like the IORA have taken strong roots.
• India continues to promote its official policy of “coordination, cooperation and partnership” in the regional maritime domain.
• As coordinator to the priority area on disaster risk management, India has published guidelines for IORA. It has also urged partners to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure launched at the UN in September 2019.
• India has been trying to emerge as the net provider of information in the IOR and in that direction it created the Information Fusion Centre located in Gurugram to assist member countries of IOR with real-time crisis information. Bangladesh, Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Seychelles have been part of the information support structure of India.

Source: IE

PSLV-C54

Why in News?

Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C54 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

• This was the 56^th flight of PSLV, which marks the final mission for the year for PSLV-C54 rocket.

What are the Satellites Launched?

• Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B):
  • About:
    • INS-2B satellite is a collaborative mission between India and Bhutan with two payloads.
      • NanoMx, a multispectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC)
      • APRS-Digipeater which is jointly developed by DITT-Bhutan and URSC was successfully deployed.
  • Significance of INS-2B:
    • It will provide high-resolution images to Bhutan for the management of the country’s natural resources.
    • The launch of the new satellite is part of India’s efforts to back Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s plans to use advanced technology, including ICT and space technology, for the development of Bhutan.
    • The collaboration also fits in with India’s “neighbourhood first” policy.
• Anand:
  • The Anand three axis stabilized Nano satellite is a technology demonstrator for miniaturized electro-optical payload and all other sub-systems like TTC, power, onboard computer and ADCS from Pixxel, India was also placed in the orbit successfully.
• Astrocast:
  • Astrocast, a 3U spacecraft, is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT) as the payload. There are 4 nos. of Astrocast Satellites in this mission. These spacecrafts are housed within an ISISpace QuadPack dispenser.
  • The dispenser protects the satellite from contamination.
• Thymbolt Satellites:
  • The Thybolt is a 0.5U spacecraft bus that includes a communication payload to enable rapid technology demonstration and constellation development for multiple users from Dhruva Space using their own Orbital Deployer with a minimum lifetime of 1 year.
• EOS-6:
  • Earth Observation Satellite-06 (EOS-06) is the Oceansat series’ 3rd-generation satellite envisaged to observe ocean colour data, sea surface temperature and wind vector data to use in oceanography, climatic and meteorological applications.
  • The satellite also supports value added products such as potential fishing zones using chlorophyll, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and wind speed and land based geophysical parameters.

Source: IE

Dhamma Dipa International Buddhist University

Why in News?

The foundation stone for the Dhamma Dipa International Buddhist University (DDIBU) at Manu Bankul in Sabroom of South Tripura district will be laid on 29th November 2022.

• DDIBU is expected to become the first Buddhist-run university in India to offer Buddhist education along with courses in other disciplines of modern education as well.

What is Buddhism?

• About:
  • Buddhism started in India over 2,600 years ago.
  • The religion is based upon the teachings, life experiences of its founder Siddhartha Gautam.
  • The main teachings of Buddhism are encapsulated in the basic concept of four noble truths or ariya-sachchani and eight-fold path or ashtangika marg.
    • Four noble truths:
      • Suffering (dukkha) is the essence of the world.
      • Every suffering has a cause – Samudya.
      • Suffering could be extinguished – Nirodha.
      • It can be achieved by following the Atthanga Magga (Eight-Fold Path).
    • Eight-Fold Paths: It consists of various interconnected activities related to knowledge, conduct, and meditative practices.
      • Right view
      • Right intention
      • Right speech
      • Right action
      • Right livelihood
      • Right mindfulness
      • Right effort
      • Right concentration
  • The essence of Buddhism is the attainment of enlightenment or nirvana which was not a place but an experience that could be attained in this life.
  • There is no supreme god or deity in Buddhism.
• Buddhist Councils:

• Schools of Buddhism:
  • Mahayana (Idol Worship), Hinayana, Theravada, Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), Zen.
• Buddhist Texts (Tipitaka):
  • Vinaya Pitaka (rules applicable to monastic life), Sutta Pitaka (main teaching or Dhamma of Buddha), Abhidhamma Pitaka (a philosophical analysis and systematization of the teaching).
• Contribution of Buddhism to Indian Culture:
  • The concept of ahimsa was its chief contribution. Later, it became one of the cherished values of our nation.
  • Its contribution to the art and architecture of India was notable. The stupas at Sanchi, Bharhut, and Gaya are wonderful pieces of architecture.
  • It promoted education through residential universities like those at Taxila, Nalanda, and Vikramasila.
  • The language of Pali and other local languages developed through the teachings of Buddhism.
  • It had also promoted the spread of Indian culture to other parts of Asia.
• UNESCO’s Heritage Sites Related to Buddhism:
  • Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar
  • Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi, MP
  • Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya, Bihar
  • Ajanta Caves Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
  • The Buddhist chanting of Ladakh was included in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012.

Source: IE

Bluebugging

Why in News?

Several smartphones have their Bluetooth settings on discovery mode as it is a default setting, making it vulnerable to bluebugging.

What is Bluebugging?

• About:
  • It is a form of hacking that lets attackers access a device through its discoverable Bluetooth connection.
  • A hacker can gain unauthorized access to these apps and devices and control them as per their wish through bluebugging.
  • Any Bluetooth-enabled device including True Wireless Stereo (TWS) devices or earbuds are susceptible to bluebugging.
  • Once a device or phone is bluebugged, a hacker can listen to the calls, read and send messages and steal and modify contacts.
  • Even the most secure smartphones like iPhones are vulnerable to such attacks.
• Preventive Measures:
  • Turning off Bluetooth and disconnecting paired Bluetooth devices when not in use.
  • Making Bluetooth devices undiscoverable from Bluetooth settings.
  • Updating the device’s system software to the latest version.
  • Limited use of public Wi-Fi.
  • Watch out for suspicious activities on your device.
  • Monitoring of sudden spikes in data usage.
  • Usage of modern anti-virus software.

What are the Related Government Initiatives?

• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra
• Online Cybercrime Reporting Portal
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)
• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)
• Information Technology Act, 2000
• National Cyber Security Strategy 2020

Source: TH

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards

Why in News?

Recently, the Sangeet Natak Akademi announced the list of 10 Akademi fellows and 128 artists who will receive the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

• Apart from this, the Akademi announced the names of 102 young artistes for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

What is Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Award?

• Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship:
  • The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship is the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi without distinction of nationality, race, caste, religion, creed, or sex.
  • The Fellowship of the Akademi is the most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 numbers at any given time.
  • The Akademi Fellowship carries purse money of Rs. 3.00 lakhs, a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards:
  • The awards are given to the artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts etc.
  • The Akademi Awards carries purse money of Rs. 1.00 lakh, a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram.

What is “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar”?

• Sangeet Natak Akademi has decided to institute “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” from the year 2006 to be awarded to artists who have shown / demonstrated conspicuous talent in the fields of music, dance and drama.
• Young outstanding practitioners upto the age of 40 years will be eligible to be considered for Yuva Puraskar every year. Age as on the date of nomination received will be reckoned from 1st April of that year.

Source: TH

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards

Why in News?

Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2022 has been announced which included four winners from India.

Award-Winning Countries: What’s the Scenario?

• Global Performance:
  • Thirteen projects from six countries that have been acknowledged for awards were:
    • Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal and Thailand.
• India’s Performance:
  • Award of Excellence: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
  • Award of Distinction: Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad
  • Award of Merit: Domakonda Fort, Telangana, and Byculla Station, Mumbai
• Significance of Heritage Sites:
  • There is a nature and culture linkage that heritage sites demonstrate. They can address climate change with net-zero water requirements.
  • The restoration of wells shows how conservation of heritage sites can have multiple objectives.

What is UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation?

• Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme has recognised the efforts of private individuals and organisations in restoring, conserving and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.
• It encourages other property owners to undertake conservation projects within their communities, either independently or by public-private partnerships.
  • The awards give people a sense of pride and sense of ownership of their own heritage.

Source: TH