DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
21 APRIL 2022
| S. No. | Topic Name | Prelims/Mains |
| 1. | NORMS FOR QUOTA IN PROMOTIONS | Prelims & Mains |
| 2. | STATE SPONSER OF TERRORISM DESIGNATION BY USA | Prelims & Mains |
| 3. | HOUTHI REBELS IN YEMEN | Prelims & Mains |
| 4. | ABOUT SEMICON INDIA 2022 CONFERENCE | Prelims Specific Topic |
| 5. | DETAILS OF THE VIDYA SAMIKSHA KENDRA | Prelims Specific Topic |
1 – NORMS FOR QUOTA IN PROMOTIONS:
GS II
Indian Constitution
Context:
- Before implementing the policy of reservation in promotion in government posts, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has requested all departments of the Central Government to collect data on inadequacy of representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
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Conditions that must be met:
- The DoPT order also lays forth the parameters that must be completed in order to apply the reservation policy in promotions (based on the Supreme Court’s decision).
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The following are the requirements:
- Quantifiable information about the insufficiency of SC and ST representation.
- This information is applied to each cadre independently.
- If a roster exists, the cadre would be the unit in charge of operating it, or the unit in charge of collecting and using measurable data in order to fill the roster’s vacancies.
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Promotional reservations:
- Indra Sawhney Judgement (1992): In November 1992, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that Article 16(4) of the Constitution did not provide for reservation in promotions in the Indra Sawhney Judgement, often known as the Mandal Judgement.
- To overturn the judgement and allow reservations in promotions, the 77th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1995 introduced a new clause to Article 16, namely Article 16(4A), which provides for reservations in promotions for SCs and STs.
- The 85th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2001 was enacted to provide consequential seniority to SCs and STs in terms of reservation in promotions.
- The 77th and 85th Amendments to the Constitution were challenged by General Category employees before a five-judge Supreme Court bench in M. Nagraj vs Union of India.
- In the matter of M. Nagraj v/s Union of India, the Court consolidated all of the petitions contesting these revisions and issued its decision in 2006.
- The Court upheld Parliament’s decision to expand reservations for SCs/STs to include promotions in its judgement (reservation in promotion).
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Reservations in Promotions are subject to the following terms and conditions:
- The M. Nagraj Judgement established three standards that the State must meet before awarding a reservation in promotion to a SC/ST.
- First, the state must demonstrate the class’s backwardness.
- Second, it must demonstrate that the class is underrepresented in the position/service for which promotion reserves are being given.
- Finally, it must demonstrate that the reservations will have no impact on the administration’s overall efficiency.
- Jarnail Singh Decision (2018): The Supreme Court modified the Nagaraj decision by stating that the state does not need to submit measurable data to indicate the “backwardness” of SCs and STs before granting reservations
- The Supreme Court ruled in January 2022 that data must be collected to determine the inadequacy of representation of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in government employment before reservation in promotions may be granted.
- The Court determined that the unit for collecting measurable data for promotion quotas was “cadre,” not “class,” “group,” or “the entire service.”
- The Court, on the other hand, has delegated to the states and the federal government the task of determining the inadequacy of SC/ST representation in promoting positions, taking into account all relevant factors.
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What are the implications of these rules:
- Officials in the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) who have not been promoted in the last six years are expected to profit from this decision. The CSS is made up of officials from various Ministries who are in medium to senior management positions.
2 – STATE SPONSER OF TERRORISM DESIGNATION BY USA:
GS II
International Relations
Context:
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has requested that Russia be designated as a “state supporter of terrorism” by Vice President Joe Biden.
- This is possibly the most severe set of sanctions against Russia that the US has available.
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On the list are the following countries:
- Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba are the four countries currently on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
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The designation of a country as a state sponsor of terrorism:
- The US Secretary of State has the authority to designate countries as “State Sponsors of Terrorism” if they “have persistently provided assistance for acts of international terrorism.”
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On countries on this list, the US can impose four types of sanctions:
- Restriction on US aid to other countries.
- Defense exports and sales are prohibited.
- Exports of dual-use commodities are subject to several restrictions.
- Various financial and other constraints.
- Sanctions can be imposed on countries and individuals that do specific types of trade with designated countries.
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Effects of the designation:
- The country’s assets in the United States, including real estate, have been frozen.
- requiring the US to veto any attempts by that country to get loans from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.
- Imposing restrictions on a wide range of dual-use exports.
- Requiring the United States to take economic action against countries that continue to trade with the targeted country.
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How can a country get removed from the list:
- A country can be delisted if the US determines that it has changed its behaviour and is now conforming with international law and conduct norms, or if its leadership has changed.
- The countries of Sudan, Iraq, and South Yemen have been taken from the list.
3 – HOUTHI REBELS IN YEMEN:
GS II
International Relations
Context:
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels have promised to eliminate child soldiers from their ranks, which have numbered in the thousands during the country’s seven-year civil conflict.
- The Houthis signed a “action plan” to cease and prohibit the recruitment and use of minors in armed conflict, as well as the death and maiming of children, as well as attacks on schools and hospitals.
- The insurgents have pledged to identify and release youngsters in their ranks within six months.
- Over 10,000 children have been murdered or maimed as a result of the war.
- One of the six U.N.-defined violations impacting children in times of war is the recruitment and use of children as soldiers. Killing and maiming children, sexual violence against children, child abductions, attacks on schools or hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to children are all on the list.
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What was the catalyst behind this:
- Yemen’s civil conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, captured Sanaa and drove the government out. In early 2015, a Saudi-led coalition, which included the United Arab Emirates, entered the conflict to return the government to power.
- According to war monitors, the fighting has killed more than 14,500 civilians and 150,000 combatants. One of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes resulted from the battle.
- The warring parties agreed to the first national cease-fire in six years earlier this month.
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What exactly are the Houthis:
- Zaydi Shiites, or Zaydiyyah, are the Houthis. Shiite Muslims are a minority group in the Islamic world, and Zaydis are a subset of Shiites with doctrines and beliefs that differ greatly from the Shiites who govern Iran, Iraq, and elsewhere (often called Twelvers for their belief in twelve Imams).
- The 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States radicalised the Houthi movement. In the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Houthis adopted the phrase “God is great, death to the US, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam.”
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Yemen:
- Yemen borders Saudi Arabia and Oman at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.
- Since the early 1990s, it has existed as a state in its current form.
- Yemen is barely 30 kilometres from Djibouti, Africa, which is located on the other side of the Bab al Mandab straits, also known as the Gate of Tears.
- Yemen and the Horn of Africa were once one continent 18 million years ago. The rifting of the Gulf of Aden, on the other hand, separated the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa.
- Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, is the country’s largest city. Yemen’s capital, according to the constitution, is Sanaa.
- Sanaa has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has a particular architectural style, which is most evident in the multi-story buildings with geometric patterns.
- Following the Houthi takeover, the capital was relocated to Aden, the previous capital of South Yemen. The Sarawat Mountains of Jabal An-Nabi Shu’ayb and Jabal Tiyal, which are the highest mountains in the country and among the highest in the region, are located near Aden.
4 – ABOUT SEMICON INDIA 2022 CONFERENCE:
Prelims Specific Topic
- Bengaluru will host the first ever Semicon India-2022 Conference.
- From the 29th of April to the 1st of May, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will host a conference with the topic Design and Manufacture in India, for the World: Making India a Semiconductor Nation.
- The goal of Semicon India – 2022 is to make India a major role in the global semiconductor value chain.
5 – DETAILS OF THE VIDYA SAMIKSHA KENDRA:
Prelims Specific Topic
The Gujarat Education Department established the Command and Control Centre, or Vidya Samiksha Kendra, in Gandhinagar.
- Enrollment, attendance, learning outcomes, dropouts, school accreditation, and school, teacher, and block and cluster resource centre co-ordinators are all monitored.
- The National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) Framework underpins this cutting-edge data-driven centre.
- The goal of the centre is to use data and technology to improve learning outcomes.
UPSC Civil Services Daily Current Affairs 21st April 2022
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