Iron Dome aerial defence system

Iron Dome aerial defence system Why in New? The Iron Dome aerial defence system just intercepted a Hamas Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that crossed from Gaza into Israel, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) . What is Iron Dome aerial defence ? Iron Dome is a multi-mission system capable of intercepting rockets, artillery, mortars and Precision Guided Munitions like very short range air defence (V-SHORAD) systems as well as aircraft, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) over short ranges of up to 70 km. It is an all-weather system and can engage multiple targets simultaneously and can be deployed over land and sea. Iron Dome is jointly manufactured by Rafael Advanced Systems and has been in service with Israeli Air Force since 2011. The radar system was developed by Elta. Its development was prompted after a series of rocket attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas in the 2000s. In the 2006 Lebanon war, around 4,000 rockets were fired on the northern parts of Israel resulting in the death of about 44 Israeli civilians and the evacuation of around 250,000 citizens. How does it work? An Iron Dome battery consists of a battle management control unit, a detection and tracking radar and a firing unit of three vertical launchers, with 20 interceptor missiles each. The interceptor missile uses a proximity fuse to detonate the target warhead in the air. The Iron Dome is deployed in a layered defence along with David’s Sling and Arrow missile defence system which are designed for medium- and long-range threats. Important advantages is its ability to identify the anticipated point of impact of the threatening rocket, to calculate whether it will fall in a built-up area or not, and to decide on this basis whether or not to engage it. This prevents unnecessary interception of rockets that will fall in open areas and thus not cause damage, the paper states. The system has intercepted thousands of rockets so far and, according to Rafael Advanced Systems, its success rate is over 90%. The I-DOME is the mobile variant with all components on a single truck and C-DOME is the naval version for deployment on ships. What are the limitations of the system? “The system has a ‘saturation point’. It is capable of engaging a certain (unpublished) number of targets at the same time, and no more. Additional rockets fired in a crowded salvo could succeed in breaching defences and cause damage. Hamas is developing mitigating strategies including lowering the trajectories of the projectiles while also continuing to accumulate thousands of rockets with improved precision. According to Mr. Shapur, one of the possible limitations is the system’s inability to cope with very short range threats as estimates put the Iron Dome’s minimum interception range at 5-7 kilometres. Among the threats mentioned were mortars, whose range usually does not exceed several kilometres,. The system is built to intercept a certain of projectiles and can be overwhelmed by a more capable adversary. Firing 500,000 shells an hour for several hours, or firing tens-of-thousands of shells per day over an extended period.” “This rate of fire would easily overwhelm a variant of Iron Dome, which is currently being proposed as a solution,”. Source: The Hindu Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge

FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge To promote the adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in government,Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has launched the #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge. It will harness theinnovation potential of the FOSS community and start-ups to solve critical issues in Government Technologies (GovTech). It calls upon FOSS innovators to submit implementable open source product innovations in CRM and ERP with possible applications for Govtech in Health, Education, and Agriculture etc. It is a key component of GovTech 3.0, which is about building secure and inclusive Open Digital Ecosystems (ODEs). The participants are eligible for incubation support, prize money, mentorship by domain experts, institutional support from eminent organizations for incubation of ideas and listing of solutions onGovernment e Marketplace (GeM). India’s largest-government projects (including Aadhaar) and many technology start-ups have also been built using FOSS.   Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

Sutra Model

Sutra Model SUTRA is Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive) and Removed Approach. SUTRA Model  is used to chart the trajectory of COVID-19. It is used to predict the future of COVID-19 infections, susceptibility, undetected and positive persons in the country. This SUTRA Model is backed by GoI and was developed by professors from IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad. The model uses three main parameters to predict the course of the pandemic which are: Beta:Also called contact rate, which measures how many people an infected person infects per day. It is related to the R0 value, which is the number of people an infected person spreads the virus to over the course of their infection. Reach:It is a measure of the exposure level of the population to the pandemic. Epsilon:It is the ratio of detected and undetected cases.   Issues with SUTRA There have been many instances of the SUTRA forecasts being far out of bounds of the actual caseload and the predictions of the SUTRA model are too variable to guide government policy. The SUTRA model was problematic as it relied on too many parameters, and recalibrated those parameters whenever its predictions “broke down”. The SUTRA model’s omission of the importance of the behaviour of the virus; the fact that some people were bigger transmitters of the virus than others (say a barber or a receptionist more than someone who worked from home); a lack of accounting for social or geographic heterogeneity and not stratifying the population by ageas it didn’t account for contacts between different age groups also undermined its validity. New variants showed up in the SUTRA model as an increase in value of parameters called ‘beta’ (that estimated contact rate). Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip is a small boot-shaped territory along the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel. Israel occupied the strip after 1967, but relinquished control of Gaza City and day-to-day administration in most of the territory during the Oslo peace process. In 2005, Israel unilaterally removed Jewish settlements from the territory, though it continues to control international access to it. Gaza Strip – Background UN General Assembly had favored the partition of Palestine region into an Arab State and a Jewish state. Under that resolution, UN General Assembly had said that  it will be given to Arab State. After Israel became an independent nation (1948), the Arabs from Tel-Aviv and other parts of Israel/Palestine region, had started migrating to this place, to save themselves from riots and looting. These are called Palestinian (Arab) refugees. During the first Israel-Arab war, the Egyptian army had captured Gaza strip. But In 1967’s war, Israel re-captured Gaza Strip. But The Egyptian government did not consider as a part of Egypt and did not allow those refugees to become Egyptian citizens or to migrate to Egypt or to other Arab countries. (their side of border was opened in 2011) On the other side, Israel did not allow these refugees to return to their former homes. So these refugees are stuck from both the sides, live in poverty and food aids from United Nations. Ever since, there is rioting and violent street clashes between Gaza’s Palestinians (refugees/Hamas) and occupying Israeli troops. Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

SARTHAQ

SARTHAQ Why in News? The implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and released an implementation plan for school education called ‘Students’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SARTHAQ)’. About The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, has developed  SARTHAQ is an indicative and suggestive implementation plan for school education. The plan was launched to implement the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Further, it will assist all the States/UTs in this task. Firstly, to provide all-around development for the students at the primary and secondary level. Secondly, to establish a safe, secure, inclusive and conducive learning environment for students as well as teachers. Thirdly, to meet the diverse national and global challenges of the present and the future. Further, it will help the students to imbibe 21st-century skills along with India’s tradition, culture and value system. Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

South Sudan

South Sudan Made up of the 10 southern-most states of Sudan, South Sudan is one of the most diverse countries in Africa. It is home to over 60 different major ethnic groups, and the majority of its people follow traditional religions. Independence did not bring conflict in South Sudan to an end. Civil war broke out in 2013 when the president fell out with his then vice president, leading to a conflict that has displaced some 4 million people. Background 1956 – Sudan becomes independent but southern states are unhappy with their lack of autonomy. Tensions boil over into fighting that lasts until 1972, when the south is promised a degree of self-government. 1983 – Fighting starts again after the Sudanese government cancels the autonomy arrangements. 2011 – South Sudan becomes an independent country, after over 20 years of guerrilla warfare, which claimed the lives of at least 1.5 million people and more than four million were displaced. 2012 – Disagreements with Sudan over the oil-rich region of Abyei erupt into fighting, known as the Heglig Crisis. A peace deal was reached in June 2012 that helped resume South Sudan’s oil exports and created a 10km demilitarized zone along the border. 2013 – Civil war breaks out after the president, Salva Kiir, sacks the cabinet and accuses Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a failed coup. Over 2.2 million people are displaced by the fighting and severe famine puts the lives of thousands at risk. 2018 – Renewed bid to end civil war leads to a power-sharing agreement between the warring sides. India – South Sudan India has developed close ties with Sudan and in recent years warmed up to the Government of South Sudan as well.  India’s Election Commission had helped organise Sudan’s first general elections in the late 1950s and Indian engineers had played a major role in setting up the country’s sugar industry and railways. Similarly India was one of the first countries to open a consulate in South Sudan and accord recognition to the Government of South Sudan after its independence on 9 July 2011. At present, India’s investment in the two Sudans is over $3 billion. In the last decade, India’s investments have been mainly in the energy sector. In 2003, India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) had invested $750 million to acquire 25 per cent equity held by the Talisman group in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). GNPOC is a consortium that also includes the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and Sudan’s Sudapet. It had also invested in other energy assets in block 5A and 5B. Most of these assets are located in South Sudan.Therefore, it is natural that conflict and instability in the region will have an adverse impact on India. The relations between Sudan and South Sudan have worsened with armed conflict breaking out intermittently. Unfortunately, the countries have still not resolved their outstanding disputes on three crucial issues – energy, boundary demarcation, and citizenship. India along with the rest of the world should take urgent steps towards pushing the leaders of both the countries to peacefully negotiate and resolve the pending disputes. Read Also GAIL Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

Government of India Act of 1919

Government of India Act of 1919 The Act provided a dual form of government (a ‘diarchy’) for the major provinces. It relaxed control over provinces by demarcating subjects as ‘central subjects’ and ‘provincial subjects’. Provincial subjects were further divided as – Administered by the governor with the help of his ‘Executive Council’. The ‘reserved list’ included Defence (the military), Foreign Affairs, and Communications. Administered by Governor with the aid of ‘Ministers’ responsible for ‘Provincial Legislative Council’. The ‘transferred list’ included Agriculture, supervision of local government, Health and Education. This dual system of government was known as ‘Diarchy’. This new system, however, failed to gain popular acceptance and Simon Commission recommended that Diarchy should be done away with and 1935 Act did the same. For the first time introduced ‘Direct Elections’ and limited franchise was granted on the basis of tax paid, education, property etc. in the country. The electorates were considerably enlarged to 5.5 million for the provinces and 1.5 million for the imperial legislature. A bicameral system at centre (the Central Legislature would comprise two chambers – the Council of State and the Indian Legislative Assembly) was introduced and majority members of both the houses in this bicameral system were directly chosen. Establishment of unicameral Provincial Legislative Councils. The Central Legislature was empowered to enact laws on any matter for the whole of India. Separate Electoral provision of Morley Minto was retained and extended to the Muslims, Sikh Seats were reserved for the non-Brahmans in Madras and the ‘depressed classes’ were offered nominated seats in the legislatures at all l The revenue resources were divided between the centre and the provinces, with land revenue going to the provinces, and income tax remaining with the centre. The Governor-General was given powers to summon, prorogue, dissolve the Chambers, and to promulgate ordinances. Thus, despite reserved and transferred list, governor-general decision was final. The number of Indians in Viceroy’s Executive Council was increased to three out of eight members. The number was increased. however, the council still remained at best an advisory body and no real power conferred. Significance of the reform of 1919 It established parliamentary democracy in India and beginning of the process of decolonisation”. For the first time government showed its intention of gradualintroduction of responsible government in India. The structure of this Act also allowed Britain to use the Princely States (who were directly represented in the Council of States) to offset the growing power of the native political parties. One important significance of the reforms was that demand by nationalists for self-government or Home Rule couldn’t be termed as seditious since the attainment of self-government for Indians now officially became a government policy which was indicated in August Declaration of Montague. Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. join now

India and Its Neighbourhood

India and Its Neighborhood India and Pakistan – Major Issues between India and Pakistan  Jammu and Kashmir​ The Indian Independence Act, 1947 created the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Princely states had choice to be part of two nations. The state of Jammu and Kasmir had an overwhelming Muslim population ruled by a Hindu King, Raja Hari Singh. The state signed standstill agreements with both India and Pakistan and wanted more time to decide the course of their future. Meanwhile, Pakistani army men dressed as tribal invaders from the North West Frontier Province invaded the state on October 22nd, 1947.  The raja appealed to India for help on October 24th. Prime Minister Nehru on the advice of the then Governor General, Lord Mountbatten asked the Raja to sign the Instrument of Accession to India, it would not have been possible to help otherwise as India was not obliged to help any state which was not a part of it. The Instrument of Accession was signed on October 26th October 1947. This document proclaimed the state of Jammu and Kashmir to be an INTEGRAL part of India and surrendered three main subjects to the Central Government. The three subjects were Defence, Communications and External Affairs. On December 31st, 1947, India raised this issue at the United Nations. Committed to the principles of the UN Charter and believing in International Law, India thought that this was a simple issue and Pakistan would be asked to move back its troops as they were the aggressors.  India became a victim of the cold war politics and most of the members of the UNSC took Pakistan’s side and a resolution was moved calling for a ceasefire.  An UNMOGIP (UN Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan) was appointed. The Karachi Agreement of 1949 delineated the Cease Fire Line (CFL) in the state of J & K. The line is up to Point NJ 9842 beyond which lies the Siachen Glacier. The UN Resolution calls on both India and Pakistan to withdraw troops from Jammu and Kashmir and a plebiscite to be held once the first condition is achieved. Pakistan refused to comply with the resolution and continues to hold on to 1/3 of the territory of the state illegally. Pakistan has tried to unilaterally alter this position, and this had led to three wars between the two sides including 1948 (the 1971 war was fought over the liberation of East Pakistan or modern day Bangladesh. Though the fighting did take place in the western sector.  The war of 1965 ended in a stalemate with the signing of the Tashkent Agreement in January 1966. The war of 1971 was not directly related to the dispute of J&K, however, there were implications. The war was called the Bangladesh Liberation war. The Indians had captured large parts of Sindh, Punjab in the western sector and had liberated East Pakistan and helped in the creation of Bangladesh. Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Bhutto met at Shimla in January 1972 and signed the Shimla Agreement. This was the best opportunity for India to have crippled the Pakistani Army and insured for a better future. The Shimla Agreement also converted the Cease Fire Line (CFL) into the Line of Control (LOC). It also had a clause that India and Pakistan were to work towards achieving peace and both sides would avoid vitriolic campaigns against each other.  All disputes between the two sides were to be solved bilaterally in a peaceful manner through negotiations. Especially on this issue of J&K, India has been consistent in its position that it is a bilateral issue to be solved by India and Pakistan and there is no place for any third-party intervention. Pakistan believes in the exact opposite despite the Shimla Agreement. The treaty, like others, lasted only a few months before Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto continued spewing hatred against India. He is said to have issued a statement which called for bleeding India through a thousand cuts. It is a policy that the deep state continues to follow through unconventional warfare. Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif had just concluded the Lahore Agreement of 1999. There was an atmosphere of good will which was conducive towards peace. Importance of Jammu and Kashmir Ideological and Religion: As Pakistan hopes to assume the leadership of the Islamic world, Kashmir will be their stepping stone towards this objective. National Interests:  J&K acts as a glue to keep Pakistan united. The dispute unites all people and provides a respite to the government which otherwise would have to deal with all the social tensions and insurgency related issues. The Pakistani armed forces command an undue advantage in the nation.  Strategic Location: The state of Jammu and Kashmir shares borders with Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and the small Wakhan Strip separates it from the Central Asian Republics. This location gives it an advantage in the geo-political sense. It has been a part of the ancient silk route. Resources: The entire Indus river system passes through this state and the nation which controls it gets to dictate terms advantageous to it in the Geo-political sense. Along with this other important economic activities include Tourism, Agriculture etc. Siachen Dispute The Karachi Agreement of 1949 lays down the cease fire line (CFL) in the state J&K up to Point NJ 9842 on the map. There is confusion as to where the temporary border goes from there. The Karachi Agreement only says that the Ceasefire line shall run northwards from Point NJ 9842. India lays claim to the entire glacier due to this clause. Pakistan on the other hand insists that the ceasefire line runs eastwards from Point NJ 9842. This would grant them access to the entire glacier. Operation Meghdoot was launched by the Indian Army and the posts were captured in 1984 after Pakistan tried to occupy the glacier. Why is Siachen a disputed region? Saltoro Ridge occupation is staking a claim beyond NJ 9842 in the event of an eventual settlement along the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line.  India has always claimed that the entire state of J&K including Northern Areas acceded to India on 26 Oct 1947. Occupation of Saltoro is therefore the occupation of Indian territory by the Indian Army. It is non-negotiable. If the line joining NJ 9842 to

People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration

People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration is a political alliance between the multiple mainstream regional political parties of Jammu and Kashmir aimed at safeguarding and restoring special status along with Article 35A of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah is the president of the alliance.  Significance  The formation of the alliance follows the spirit of the Gupkar Declaration that was adopted on 4 August 2019, a day before the changes in the structure of the state were announced in Parliament. Amidst the rumours that the Government of India was going to take some unprecedented steps in relation to J&K, the representatives of six mainstream parties of Kashmir had resolved that modification, abrogation of Article 35A and Article 370, or unconstitutional delimitation, or trifurcation of the state would be an aggression against the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.  It was therefore resolved that all parties be united to protect and defend identity, autonomy and the special status of J&K. Read Also Digital Services Tax What is Peoples’ Alliance ?  Peoples alliance is a coalition of Regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir. The alliance came into existence for restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state as it existed before August 5 last year and also Initiative a dialogue between all stake holdersin the issue. Gupkar Declaration First Declaration: The Declaration signed on 4 August 2019 stated that modification or abrogation of Article 35A or Article 370 would be aggression against the people of J&K. The venue was the Gupkar Residence in Srinagar and thus it became known as the Gupkar Declaration. Gupkar Declaration II: Gupkar Declaration II, signed on 22 August 2020 by the six political parties asserted that the signatories were bound by August 4, 2019 Gupkar declaration and parties would strive for restoration of Article 370 and Article 35a. https://youtu.be/AwtNd2Oco4o Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. Join now

Justice Verma Committee (JVC) recommendation

Justice Verma Committee (JVC) recommendation: Punishment for Rape: The panel has not recommended the death penalty for rapists. It suggests that the punishment for rape should be rigorous imprisonment or RI for seven years to life. It recommends that punishment for causing death or a “persistent vegetative state” should be RI for a term not be less than 20 years, but may be for life also, which shall mean the rest of the person’s life. Gang-rape, it suggests should entail punishment of not less than 20 years, which may also extend to life and gang-rape followed by death, should be punished with life imprisonment. Punishment for other sexual offences: The panel recognised the need to curb all forms of sexual offences and recommended – Voyeurism be punished with upto seven years in jail; stalking or attempts to contact a person repeatedly through any means by up to three years. Acid attacks would be punished by up to seven years if imprisonment; trafficking will be punished with RI for seven to ten years. Registering complaints and medical examination: Every complaint of rape must be registered by the police and civil society should perform its duty to report any case of rape coming to its knowledge. “Any officer, who fails to register a case of rape reported to him, or attempts to abort its investigation, commits an offence which shall be punishable as prescribed,” the report says. The protocols for medical examination of victims of sexual assault have also been suggested. The panel said, “Such protocol based, professional medical examination is imperative for uniform practice and implementation.” Bill of Rights for women:A separate Bill of Rights for women that entitles a woman a life of dignity and security and will ensure that a woman shall have the right to have complete sexual autonomy including with respect to her relationships. The major differences between the Ordinance passed by the government and the J. S. Verma Committee recommendations were: The Justice J. S. Verma Committee recommended 20 years imprisonment for gang-rape and life imprisonment for rape and murder but refrained from using the term “death penalty” though there was public outcry to sentence rapists with death sentence following the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi on December 16, 2012. However, the ordinance passed by the Cabinet went for a harsher punishment for a rapist – a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for rapists and even death penalty in extreme cases. Verma panel reccomended criminalization of marital rape but the ordinance rejected it. The Justice J. S. Verma Committee recommended restriction of politicians facing sexual offence charges from contesting elections. Ordinance rejected this recommendation. The panel recommended that the senior police or army officials be held responsible for sexual offences committed by their junior but the ordinance rejected it. The Justice J. S. Verma Committee wanted to make videography of recording statement from victim mandatory but the ordinance made it optional. The Justice J. S. Verma Committee wanted the definition for sexual offences as rape but the ordinance replaced it with the word “sexual assault”. Criticisms: The law has been severely criticized for being gender biased and giving women the legal authority to commit exactly the same crimes (against which they seek protection) against men with impunity. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 has been strongly criticised by several human rights and women’s rights organisations for not including certain suggestions recommended by the Verma Committee Report like, marital rape, reduction of age of consent, amending Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act so that no sanction is needed for prosecuting an armed force personnel accused of a crime against woman. Conclusion: The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 has been known all over as one of the most concrete steps taken by the Indian government to curb violence against women. Major amendments by the Act in the Indian Penal Code, not only widen the ambit of certain offences but also recognises new offences like acid attacks which earlier lacked a specific provision and definition in the Code.Despite its flaws, the Act bears a progressive insight to make an impact and fight a battle against violence against women. However, the Act by itself is not sufficient to redress and seek justice for violence against women. For this, the Government of India needs to make colossal investments in building necessary infrastructure to deal with the crimes supplemented by meaningful reforms in judiciary (building fast track women’s courts, more engagement of women lawyers, women doctors to examine victims) and modernisation of the police system across whole of India. Read Also PMJAY SEHAT scheme Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. Join now