1. CINEMATOGRAPH BILL 2023 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Governance)

Context: The Rajya Sabha passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that introduces stringent anti-piracy provisions, expanding the scope of the law from censorship to also cover copyright.

• It seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act 1952.

Highlights of the bill

• Film Classification: It has provisions to classify films on the basis of age group instead of the current practice of rating them "U" (unrestricted public exhibition), "A" (restricted to adult audiences), and "UA" (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12).
• The amendments seek to add new classifications – ‘UA-7+’, ‘UA-13+’, and ‘UA-16+’ in place for 12 years.
• It also seeks to bring about uniformity in categorisation of films and content across platforms.

• Stricter Laws Against Piracy: The Bill holds stricter punishment for those responsible for piracy. This includes three years of imprisonment and a Rs 10 lakh penalty for those engaged in piracy.

• Once the Bill is released, the act of piracy will be considered an offence legally and will include even transmitting pirated content punishable.

Cinematograph Act 1952

• It was enacted by the Parliament to ensure that films are exhibited in accordance with the limits of tolerance of Indian society.
• It establishes Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC, popularly known as the censor board) appointed by the Central Government to sanction and certify films.
• The Board scrutinizes the film in its entirety and based on the contemporary standard of Indian society following the procedure laid down under the Act.
• Board can either make a speaking order of rejection or grant the certificate, which shall be valid for ten years.
• The Act also authorizes the police to conduct search and seizure if the film is being exhibited in contravention of any of the provisions of the Act.

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2. STAR (*) SYMBOL BANKNOTES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a clarification regarding the validity and status of banknotes featuring a star (*) symbol on the number panel. 

Key Points

• Fresh banknotes issued by the RBI till August 2006 were serially numbered. 
• Each of these banknote bears a distinctive serial number along with a prefix consisting of numerals and letter/s. The banknotes are issued in packets containing 100 pieces.
• The RBI adopted the “STAR series” numbering system for replacement of defectively printed banknote in a packet of 100 pieces of serially numbered banknotes.
• The Star (*) symbol is inserted in the number panel of a banknote that is used as replacement for defectively printed banknotes in a packet of 100 pieces of serially numbered banknotes. 
• A banknote with a Star (*) symbol is identical to any other legal banknote, except that in the number panel a Star (*) is added between the prefix and the serial number. 
• The Star (*) symbol is an identifier that it is a replaced/ reprinted banknote.

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3. DIGITAL PAYMENTS INDEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: Digital payments across the country registered a growth of 13. 24% in a year through March 2023, as per RBI’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI)  that measures the adoption of online transactions.

Key Points

• RBI’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) stood at 395. 57 at end- March 2023 compared to 377. 46 in September 2022 and 349. 30 in March 2022.
• The RBI-DPI index has increased across all parameters driven by significant growth in payment infrastructure and payment performance across the country over the period.
• The central bank announced the construction of a composite RBIDPI in March 2018 as a base to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

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4. BENEFICIARIES UNDER NFSA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Food Security)

Context:  There is a scope for identification of 1.24 crore more beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, 2013 by the state governments, in addition to the existing 80.11 crore beneficiaries of the food security law, show the latest data available with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Key Points

• If these beneficiaries are identified, they will become eligible to avail of the Centre’s free foodgrains scheme - Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) - which is being implemented from January 1 to December 31 during 2024.
• PMGKAY provides 5 kg of rice or wheat (according to regional dietary preferences) per person and 1 kg of dal to each family holding a ration card. 
• The NFSA entitles beneficiaries covered under it to buy food grains at a subsidised rate - rice Rs 3/kg, wheat Rs 2/kg and nutria-cereals Rs 1/kg. However, the NDA government, last year, decided to provide food grains free of cost to eligible households for a year.

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5. JAN VISHWAS BILL 2023 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Govt. Policies & Intervention)

Context: The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023 was passed in Lok Sabha.

• The Bill was first introduced in Lok Sabha on 22nd December 2022. Subsequently, it was referred to the Joint Committee of the Parliament.

Highlights of the Bill

• The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 amends 42 laws, across multiple sectors, including agriculture, environment, and media and publication.  Acts being amended include the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The Bill converts several fines to penalties, meaning that court prosecution is not necessary to administer punishments.  It also removes imprisonment as a punishment for many offences.  All offences under the Post Office Act, 1898 are being removed.
• Fines and penalties for certain offences in specified Acts are being increased.  These fines and penalties will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.
• The Bill amends some Acts to provide for the appointment of Adjudicating Officers to decide penalties.  It also specifies the appellate mechanism.

Key Issues

• The Bill omits all offences under the Indian Post Office Act, 1898. This raises two questions.  
• First, since several offences under this Act can only be committed by post office officials, it is not clear how deleting those offences is relevant to the stated objective of improving ease of living and doing business.  
• Second, the omitted offences include the unlawful opening of postal articles.  Removing punishments for this offence may lead to unjustified invasions of privacy.
• The Adjudicating Officers appointed to award penalties for environmental offences are senior officials of the Executive branch.  They may lack the required technical and judicial competence to decide on such penalties.
• The Bill creates an Environmental Protection Fund for education, awareness, and research for environment protection.  The reasons for creating this fund are unclear given the overlap between its purpose and that of existing funds of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards.
• The Bill decriminalises offences under the High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonetisation) Act, 1978.  This Act was used to remove high-value banknotes as legal tender on January 16, 1978.  
• This deadline also applied to regulatory compliances under that Act.  Therefore, amending punishments under this Act after 45 years may not be relevant.

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6. INDIA AND IRAN DEAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - IR)

Context: India and Iran are expected to sign a long-term deal for the development of Iran’s Chabahar Port by September before the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 scheduled in New Delhi in October.

Key Points

• Currently, India and Iran sign one-year contract extensions for developing and running the terminal at Chabahar Port. 
• However, India has been urging Tehran to commit to a longer-term pact, providing certainty for investment and development plans for the port designed by India. 
• In 2016, India committed $85 million for the development of the port, along with a $150 million line of credit. 
• As of 2023, India has supplied six gantry cranes to the tune of $25 million for the development of the port. 
• However, Iran has voiced dissatisfaction with India’s efforts in the past.
• In 2013, India pledged $100 million to develop the port, but matters progressed after the 2015 nuclear deal was struck between Iran and the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union. 
• In 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed an agreement to develop Chabahar as a trade and transport corridor to bind their economies together. 
• The resumption of US sanctions in 2019 and the fall of Afghanistan in 2021 have complicated matters and slowed work on the port.

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7. HONEYBEE DIETS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: Researchers is seeking insights into the impact of pollen diversity on the nutritional quality of honeybee diets. 

• They will also examine how bees regulate the collection and consumption of pollen.

Key Points

• Honeybees balance their protein-lipid intake, ensuring they do not over consume either nutrient beyond what is required.
• This balanced approach ultimately contributes to their overall health and well-being.
• Inadequate nutrition and landscape transformations are two significant contributors to the decline of over 40 per cent of managed honeybees in the United States annually.
• Brood food, a milky fluid produced by nurse bees to feed bee larvae, is where much of the damage of poor nutrition begins.
• Deficiencies in an important nutritional components in brood food, particularly protein and critical lipids, can result in poor physiological development, resulting in undersized adults, deformities and immune system damage, he added.
• Honeybees tightly regulate their protein and lipid intake, and the fatty acid composition of lipids could play an essential role in the bees’ nutritional choices.

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8. SHRINKING ANTARCTICA’S SEA ICE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Geography)

Context: As the northern hemisphere shatters new temperature records, Antarctica in the southern hemisphere is also bearing the brunt of warm temperatures.

Key Points

• Despite it being peak winter in the southern hemisphere, the sea ice cover in Antarctica has deviated from the 1991-2020 average by over six standard deviations (SD). 
• One SD is a measure of how much an observation deviates from the mean. 
• The Southern Ocean that encircles Antarctica freezes to form sea ice every year, reaching its maximum at the end of winter, which is September or early October in the Southern Hemisphere. 
• In the summer months, which last from December to February, the sea ice melts due to warmer temperatures and longer hours of sunlight.
• The lack of sea ice is causing temperatures to warm further. 
• The bright surface of sea ice is known to reflect incoming sunlight into space.
• Winds from the north are transporting warm air to Antarctica. This could be contributing to the low ice condition.

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9. PARKACHIK GLACIER (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Geography)

Context: The Parkachik Glacier in Ladakh is likely to have three lakes of different dimensions due to subglacial over-deepening - a characteristic of basins and valleys eroded by glaciers, shows a new study. 

• Parkachik Glacier is a mountain glacier in Kargil, Ladakh, India.
• Parkachik Glacier, located at Parkachik, is a mass of ice moving slowly down the Nun-Kun slopes. This ice mass falls finally into the Suru River, providing views of the huge ice-fall.

Key Points

• Scientists carried out a study that describes the morphological and dynamic changes of Parkachik Glacier, Suru River Valley, Ladakh Himalaya, India.
• Considering their sensitivity and as a most direct and apparent visible indicator of regional climate change, Himalayan glaciers have been subjected to numerous studies, from field-based investigations to the modern state-of-the-art remote sensing approach, for more than a century. 
• In contrast, understanding the ice thickness and distribution is foremost required for the Himalayan glaciers.
• However, existing approaches, like remote sensing, cannot directly estimate the glacier thickness. 
• Based on ground penetrating radar, very few studies have been carried out on glacier thickness in the Indian Himalaya.

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10. LITERARY PROGRAMS UNDER SAHITYA AKADEMI (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Art & Culture)

Context: The Ministry of Culture through its autonomous body, Sahitya Akademi holds literary programmes for promotion of the north eastern tribal languages such as Mizo, Ao, Garo, Chakma, Rabha, Karbi, Hmar, Lepcha, Khasi, Tangkhul, Missing, Tenydie, Kokborok, Jaintia, etc. 

Key Points

• The Akademi encourages regional dialects and languages through Bhasha Samman for outstanding contribution in the field of classical and medieval literature and in unrecognized languages.
• Programmes such as Gramalok to reach out to the literary lovers belonging to non-urban places across the nation.
• Celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August by organising an All India Tribal Writers’ Meet. 
• The North East Centre for Oral Literature (NECOL), established in Agartala to cater the regional languages which bring out related publications.
• Translation of books from regional languages into English which would help translations into other languages for the dissemination of this unknown literature into other linguistic communities. 
• An Oral and Tribal Literature Centre in Delhi established in December 2014 to cater to the Oral and Tribal Literature for other parts of the country and for preserving oral tradition. 
• Program called "Loka: The Many Voices" consisting of lectures and demonstrations to protect and preserve the folk and tribal art and culture of the country. 
• Annual Festival of Letters that includes All India Tribal Writers' Meet to promote tribal literature. Publication of invaluable works, both original and translated, and conducts book exhibitions and sales across the nation.
• The Ministry of Education through the National Education Policy, 2020 focuses on promotion of all Indian languages including regional languages. 
• The policy provides, wherever possible, for medium of instruction in local language up to at least class 5, and preferable up to class 8.

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