The Directive Principles resemble the ‘Instrument of Instructions’ enumerated in the

a) Government of India Act of 1935
b) Montague Chelmsford Act 1919
c) Objectives Resolution, 1946
d) Nehru Report, 1928

Which one of the following Directive Principles was not originally provided in the Constitution of India?

a) Organization of village panchayats
b) Safeguard forests and wild life
c) Uniform civil code for the citizens
d) Organization of agriculture and animal husbandry

Consider the following statements regarding Uniform Civil Code.

i. A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.
ii. Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that it shall be the obligation of the state to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

MAP OF THE DAY

Prelims Specific Factual News Items

1. SWASTIIK Technology for Disinfecting Water :- CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune has launched a new technique called SWASTIIK to disinfect water by using natural oils. It was launched because, water-borne diseases have increased India’s disease burden.

How SWASTIIK is different from existing methods?
Disinfection of water is essential to remove pathogenic microorganisms that causes water-borne diseases.  But, chemical methods like chlorination to disinfect water, generate harmful or carcinogenic by-products.

Thus, SWASTIIK technology was developed which boils liquid as a result of pressure reduction or cavitation. This method uses natural oils with antimicrobial properties to disinfect water.

2) New Zealand signs space agreement with NASA :- New Zealand has become the latest country to sign “space agreement with NASA” with the objective of boosting nascent space industry of New Zealand.

• New Zealand is the eleventh signatory to Artemis Accords.
• Artemis Accords is a blueprint for space cooperation and supporting NASA’s plan to return humans to moon by 2024. It also supports NASA’s plan of launching historic human mission to Mars.

Via the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024, heralding in a new era for space exploration and utilization.

While NASA is leading the Artemis program, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars.

With numerous countries and private sector players conducting missions and operations in cislunar space, it’s critical to establish a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space.

The Artemis Accords will describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to create a safe and transparent environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities for all of humanity to enjoy.

3)World’s first Human case of H10N3 Bird Flu :- First Human case of H10N3 bird flu was reported in eastern province of Jiangsu in China. H10N3 is a low pathogenic or less severe strain of virus in poultry. The risk of it transmitting on a large scale is also very low. In about 40 years, only 160 isolates of this virus were reported, in wild birds or waterfowl across Asia and North America. It has not been detected in chickens.

4) NITI Aayog to release the SDG India Index & Dashboard :- The third rendition of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index will be launched by NITI Aayog on 3^rdJune, 2021. First launched in December 2018, the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in the country and has simultaneously fostered competition among the States and Union Territories by ranking them on the Global Goals.

The Index, developed in collaboration with the United Nations in India,  measures the progress at the national and sub-national level in the country’s journey towards meeting the Global Goals and targets and has been successful as an advocacy tool to propagate the messages of sustainability, resilience, and partnerships, as well. With one-third of the journey towards achieving the 2030 agenda behind us, this edition of the index report focuses on the significance of partnerships and is titled “SDG India Index & Dashboard, 2020-21: Partnerships in The Decade of Action”.

5) ‘India Cycles4Change’ challenge gains momentum :- The India Cycles4Change challenge is beginning to gain momentum in Indian cities. The challenge was launched last year under the Smart Cities Mission by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 25^th June, 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was gaining ground in the country. Over the last year, a cycling revolution has taken over India, with cycling being seen as an important mode of safe and healthy personal transport medium that ensures social distancing, while being environmentally sustainable.

6)Palestine flays India’s abstention from vote :- India’s abstention from the latest resolution on the Palestinian
issue suppresses human rights of “all people”, Palestine’s Foreign Minister said.

India’s view on Palestinian issue:- T.S. Tirumurti expressed India’s support to the “just Palestinian cause”. India has maintained that two-state solution to equal sovereign rights is the way forward to resolve the century-old crisis.

About UNHRC : UNHRC was reconstituted from its predecessor organisation, the UN Commission on Human Rights to help overcome the “credibility deficit” of the previous organisation.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Composition: The UNHRC has 47 members serving at any time with elections held to fill up seats every year, based on allocations to regions across the world to ensure geographical representation.

Each elected member serves for a term of three years.

Countries are disallowed from occupying a seat for more than two consecutive terms.

7)UNGA head: India to vote for Maldives :- India will vote in support of Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid in the election of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, a decision which will disappoint another close neighbour, Afghanistan, which has former Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul in the running.
The race between the South Asian neighbours for the post, which is being chosen this time from the Asia Pacific grouping, will be decided in the election on June 7.

About UNGA :– The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.

All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many heads of state attend and address.

Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.

Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.

The President of the General Assembly is elected each year by assembly to serve a one-year term of office.

8) Remembering the Tulsa race massacre 100 years later :- This week, U.S. President Joe Biden became the first sitting American head of state to officially recognise one of the worst incidents of violent racial hate in the country’s modern history — the Tulsa Race Massacre of May-June 1921.

The widespread killings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, targeting relatively well to do African Americans, and the extensive damage to their property by rampaging white mobs at the time shocked the nation and world. Over the decades since then, it has led to introspection and policy actions that have sought to bridge the racial chasm that continues to haunt American society.

What Happened :- In 1921, it was the affluent, predominantly African American neighbourhood of Greenwood, Tulsa, founded by descendants of slaves and having earned a reputation as the “Black Wall Street” of the U.S., that faced the carnage unleashed on May 31 and June 1.

9)Labour veteran Herzog elected Israel President :- Israel’s Parliament elected the even keeled Labour veteran Isaac Herzog as its 11th President on Wednesday, a vote that came as Opposition lawmakers scrambled to forge a coalition to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu.

EDITORIALS OF THE DAY

EDITORIAL 01 – Adverse changes, federalism imperilled

In this Article the Author has highlighted how the Federalism in India is under attack.
What are the instances of loss of Federalism :-

• Central government undermines the authority of the elected state government of the day either through Governor or other mechanisms like the LG in New Delhi.
• Central has centralising tendencies and thus usurp the financial powers of the states like the implementation of GST has taken the taxation powers of the states.
• Imposition of Lockdown in the start of the Covid- 19 was also an unitary decision without any discusion about the strategy and planning with the state governments.
• The opposition is intimidated by using the institutions like the CBI, ED, NIA etc
• Author also accuses the present government of homogenisation of the population in an unified Hindutva ideology.

Author says that cooperative federalism is the fine fabric that holds the democracy together and that must be respected.

EDITORIAL 02 :- A far-reaching tax measure

Author has discussed about the new suggestion of US government to implement a minimum global corporate tax which was initially suggested as 21% but later on the recommendations are of taxation of 15%. This in on similar likes to that of Pillar II reforms as suggested by OECD. OECD also recommended such tax but the rate of taxation suggested was 10-15 %.

Now Author says this New Suggestion if implemented has the potential to increase the revenue of the India since India loses approximately $10 Billion every year due to tax avoidance by the companies using the offshore location (Tax heavens ) like Mauritius and Singapore.

How Will this Minimum Corporate Tax Work :– Suppose the Minimum Corporate tax rate is chosen to be 15%, then suppose any corporate is using Singapore as Offshore location for business and paying 5% tax rate there. Thus this will give India power to tax another 10% on that Company in India to fulfil the condition of Minimum corporate taxation.

Editorial 03 :- The cautionary tale in Osaka’s exit

Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open tennis championship after the organisers would not accept
her request to be excused from post match interactions even as she cited a history of suffering from bouts of
depression and severe anxiety while facing the media. Indeed, the organisers had imposed a fine of $15,000
after Osaka excused herself from the post match press conference after her first round victory.

This despite the fact that she had already communicated her concerns about her mental health to the organisers at the beginning of the tournament. They, in turn, threatened her with expulsion if she did not participate in post match
media interactions.

The French Tennis Federation did not cover itself in glory when it displayed an utter lack of empathy towards
a vulnerable young woman who rose to the top of the game because of her immense talent and not
because of her speaking abilities.

What would the Federation do if a player with a severe speech impediment requested to be excused from
answering questions at a press conference? Would they be as unyielding in dealing with a physical disability as they were while dealing with a serious mental health concern?