National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 30th January 2020

Donald Trump’s peace plan for Israel and Palestine

Topic: International Affairs

In News: President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People, has been released recently.

More on the Topic:

• The Trump plan seeks to address most of the contentious issues in the conflict such as the border of Israel, status of Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements on the West Bank, land swap between Israel and Palestine, Israel’s security concerns and the status of the city of Jerusalem.
• However, the solutions Mr. Trump has proposed to almost all of these issues favour the Israeli positions. For example, Israel would be allowed to annex the Jewish settlements on the West Bank as well as the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian refugees, who were forced out from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed the declaration of the state of Israel in the historic Palestine, would not be allowed to return. They could move to the future Palestinian state, be integrated into the host countries or settled in other regional countries.
• Jerusalem, perhaps the most contentious issue, would be “the undivided capital” of Israel, with Palestine gaining its capital in the east of the city beyond the security border Israel has already built.
• In return, Israel would freeze further settlement activities on the West Bank for four years the time for negotiations. During this period, the Palestinian Authority should dismiss its current complaints at the International Criminal Court against Israel and refrain itself from taking further actions.
• It should also crack down on “terrorist” groups such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
• Trump has also proposed $50 billion in investment over 10 years should Palestine accept the proposals.
• In the final settlement, Palestine would get control over more land than what it currently controls (According to the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into three areas and only one of them is under the direct control of the Palestinian Authority).
• The plan proposes some land swap for the Israeli annexation of the West Bank Jewish settlements. It seeks to enlarge Gaza and connect the strip with the West Bank through a tunnel. The Arab towns in the southeast of Israel, which are close to Gaza, could become part of a future Palestinian state.

Criticism:

• The Palestine position, which is backed by most of the world powers, is the formation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 border (meaning the whole of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) with East Jerusalem as its capital (including the Old City that houses Haram esh-Sharif, also known as Temple Mount, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews).
• Issues like the right of return of the Palestinian refugees are to be settled in final negotiations. But Mr. Trump has effectively rejected the Palestinian claims outright and asked them to make more compromises.
• The Palestinians believe that Mr. Trump, whose administration recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, is not an impartial negotiator between the two sides. And the plan Mr. Trump unveiled recently in the White House seems to be confirming Palestinian concerns.
• Trump has thrown his weight behind the two-state solution. But to achieve the solution, the plan overly favours the Israeli positions and demands excessive concessions from the Palestinians.
• Observers have said that the deal, which was drawn up without any meaningful Palestinian participation, is loaded in Israel’s favour. It gets unified Jerusalem as its capital, and it does not have to dismantle any of its illegal settlements in the West Bank.
• To the Palestinians, the deal offers the possibility of a US-recognised quasi sovereign state that will not, however, have a standing army; they will also have to give up violent resistance to Israel, and ensure the disbandment of Hamas, which governs Gaza.

Way Ahead:

• It’s hard to overlook the injustice in demanding that the Palestinians accept further annexation of the West Bank.
• Issues such as the status of Jerusalem and the right to return of refugees, an internationally accepted right, and the final borders should be resolved through talks, not by dictating terms to one party.

India’s Stand: ·  India urged Israel and Palestine to engage directly and explore possibilities of finding an “acceptable” solution to the regional conflict. ·  India has traditionally supported statehood for the Palestinian side and maintained that the two-state solution is the best guarantee for solution of the oldest post-World War II crisis in the West Asian region.

Model Mains Question: Examine the ‘two state solution’ in the Israel – Palestine conflict situation.

Source: Hindu

Pregnancy termination bill

Topic: Social Justice

In News: The Union Cabinet approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. It will be introduced in the ensuing session of Parliament.

More on the Topic:

• The proposed amendment seeks to enhance the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women that will be defined in the amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules and will include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, minors) etc.
• Also, the upper gestation limit will not apply to cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the Medical Board.
• Name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds.

Significance:

• The amemdment to the ACT would ensure a safe termination of pregnancies and also give women reproductive rights over their bodies.
• The extension to 24 weeks will also help victims of rape, girls with disabilities as well as minors, who may not realise they are pregnant until later.
• This will reduce maternal mortality as well.

Source: Hindu

Operation Vanilla

Topic: International Affairs

In News: The Indian Navy has launched the ‘Operation Vanilla’ to assist the population of Madagascar affected by Cyclone Diane.

More on the Topic:

• Indian Navy has send a large amphibious ship viz. INS Airavat carrying clothing, medicines, and other relief material to provide assistance and support in the relief operations.
• Diane is a tropical cyclone. India assistance to Madagascar is in consonance with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR)’.

Source: Hindu

Karnataka Anti-superstition Law

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: Anti-superstition law in Karnataka was formally notified by the current government.

More on the topic:

• The model Bill held human dignity as its central tenet and sought eradication of irrational practices found in different communities.
• The first draft made practices like inflicting self-wounds and conversion through bribery illegal.
• Some of the proposals opposed by religious leaders and political parties in the early draft were the ban on practices such as the carrying of priests in palanquins, worshipping the feet of religious leaders.
• It sought to ban Made Snana practised in the Dakshina Kannada region where Dalits roll over the remains of food consumed by upper castes.

The current version:

• A Bill with sizable consensus across the political spectrum finally evolved in 2017. A total of 16 practices have been banned under the law.
• The practice of Vaastu, astrology, pradakshina or circumabulation of holy places, yatras, parikramas performed at religious places were kept out of the purview of the law.
• Made Snana was banned under the law with respect to having Dalits roll over leftover food. The practice has now been modified to be voluntary and not involving leftover food.
• Practices such as barring menstruating women from entering houses of worship and their homes, coercing people to take part in fire-walks, and beating up people by declaring them evil, are among the irrational practices that have been banned under the 2017 law.
• The law stipulates “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees”, as punishment for violations.
• The law is to implemented by the state police with the appointment of vigilance officers under the law at police stations.

Source: Indian Express

Nagardhan excavations

Topic: Culture

In News: Archaeological excavations at Nagardhan, near Nagpur, have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty.

More on the Topic:

• Oval-shaped sealing has been discovered, which belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty.
• It bears her name in the Brahmi script, along with the depiction of a conch.
• The presence of the conch is a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation that the Guptas had.
• Since the Vakataka people had trade with Iran and beyond through the Mediterranean Sea, these sealings could have been used as an official royal permission issued from the capital city.
• Copper plate issued by Queen Prabhavatigupta has also been found.
• It starts with a genealogy of the Guptas, mentioning the Queen’s grandfather Samudragupta and her father Chandragupta II.

Vakataka dynasty:

• The Vakataka Empire originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE, with Nagardhan as capital. Vindhyashakti (c. 250 – c. 270 CE) is known to be the founder of the family.
• Evidence indicate the state have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east.
• They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.
• The Vakataka dynasty was a Brahmin dynasty and rulers were pre-dominantly shaivites.
• The Gupta emperor Chandragupta II married his daughter into Vakataka royal family and with their support annexed Gujarat from the Saka Satraps in 4th century CE.
• The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were built under the patronage of Vakataka emperor, Harishena.
• The elephant god was a commonly worshipped deity in those times.

Queen Prabhavati Gupta:

• The Vakataka rulers were known to have forged several matrimonial alliances with other dynasties of their times.
• One of the key alliances was with Prabhavatigupta of the mighty Gupta dynasty, which was then ruling north India.
• After marrying Vakataka king Rudrasena II, Prabhavatigupta enjoyed the position of Chief Queen.
• Scholars say Queen Prabhavatigupta was among a handful of women rulers in India to have reigned over any kingdom during ancient times.
• Also, there had been no evidence so far of any successor female ruler within the Vakataka dynasty.

Source: Hindu

Bhuvan Panchayat

Topic: e-Governance

In News: ISRO has developed Bhuvan panchayat Web portal.

More on the Topic:

• The Web Geo portal is developed for the benefit of Gram Panchayat members and other stakeholders, able to perform Database visualization, Data analytics, Generation of automatic reports and Model based products and services.
• The targeted audience for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram panchayats.
• ISRO National Remote Sensing Centre, which is the national repository of earth imageries, aids rural planners to plan and locate a healthcare unit, water harvesting, and rural communication network even from the panchayat office.

SISDP-Update Project: · Satellite imagery-based database of rural natural resources, called SISDP, was launched by ISRO. · It will be the backbone of planning and decision-making in the country’s 2.5 lakh village panchayats, according to its main stakeholders in the departments of Space and Panchayat Raj. ·  The recent update to the project is short for Space-based Information Support for Decentralized Planning — uses high-resolution data from recent earth observation satellites and offers detailed information to panchayats about their key assets.

Source: PIB